Nebraska

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It's movies like Nebraska that really make me want to become a professional movie critic, because even if I can stray just one person away from a movie like this, I'll feel like I have done my job. When I look at how well this film has done, I see a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%, and a label of "Certified Fresh." I see a Metaritic score of 86, indicating "Universal Acclaim." I also see it received 5 Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. To anybody who enjoyed this movie, I have two questions for you - how and why?

This 2013 Cannes Film Festival entry follows David Grant (Will Forte) as he brings his aloof and alcoholic father Woody to Nebraska, where the old man is convinced he won a $1 million grand prize. David knows it's a scam, but to give his mother (June Squibb) a break and to spend some quality time with his dad, he agrees to drive him to the sweepstakes headquarters to make his father happy.

Along the way, Woody hits his head after drinking one night and is advised to stay put for a few days and rest. David drives over to his aunt's house, where his mother and brother join him for a family reunion with his cousins and uncles and aunts. Already sounds like a movie worth seeing, huh? Well if I haven't made this movie sound boring enough, it really only gets worse. Rather than recap the rest of the synopsis, let's just sum it up by saying that Woody encounters a few old faces is in his hometown and embarrasses himself and his family when everyone that thinks he has actually won a million dollars finds out it was a sham.

There were three scenes I enjoyed in this movie. That's right - three. One is when David is talking to his cousins about how long it takes to drive certain distances, another is when David's mother cusses out a few family members, and the last is when David and his brother steal a compressor. In a 110 minute movie, that only adds up to about 5 minutes of enjoyable screentime. Other Alexander Payne movies like The Descendants and Sideways had a lot more than that. If it weren't for June Squibb's performance, I might've left the theater.

Nebraska was a total waste of time and money, and the only Oscar nominations I could conceivably see it being worthy of are Best Actor for Bruce Dern and Best Supporting Actress for June Squibb. Will Forte has been recognized by some critics circles, though I have no idea why. He seemed to read his lines off just to get his paycheck. Best Screenplay? What for? For one of the most awkwardly paced and unessential works of cinema this year? And Best Director? Well, let's just say that I've seen a lot better from Alexander Payne and was thoroughly disappointed.

Nebraska is as boring and desolate as the State that it takes place in probably is. Still, Squibb made me laugh, and Dern's dedication to his role deserves acknowledgement. But that's all I can commend here.

Rating: 2/5