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Using the Patented
Cooperman 4-Point Scale

Copyright 2002
 
Waking Life
by Amana Manori
On the Cooperman 4 point scale, one might think that Waking Life is a FLOP...it lacks nudity, it lacks comedy and for some simple-minded folk, it even lacks entertainment. HOWEVER, the movie is saved on the Cooperman scale in the area of quality.

Waking life depicts brilliant animation of life-like characters on an existentialist journey to find the meaning of life. It is a balanced smorgasboard of an array of philosophical commentaries on human existence. And, in good existential form, the deeper the search into the meaning of life, the further we find ourselves from the answer.

So, although some ADD viewers will argue (presumably, over a meal at HOOTERs watching grown men in beat each other up in the name of sport) that Waking Life is as dull as a philosophy lecture, I would recommend it. However, I will say that it is probably better enjoyed in one's own living room than in a movie theatre.
 
Waking Life
by Troy Taillefer
I will start this review with a couple bonus reviews: the last 30 minutes of Shallow Hal were okay. There were a few funny parts, but ultimately I was forced to sit through the part of a goofy movie where they break away from the humour and attempt to tie the story together; and the last 45 minutes of Life As A House seemed pretty good. The highlight for me was the use of a Radiohead song (I can't recall which one).

These bonus reviews were made possible by one thing - Waking Life sucks. I was ready to walk out quite early, but managed to sit through about 30 minutes before finally throwing in the towel. Rider Petch once told me that walking out of a movie is like saying to the rest of the people that are still watching "Fuck you, I've got better things to do with my time." Preach on Rider.

I'm certain that someone who enjoyed Waking Life can come up with a few thoughtful reasons why they think it was good. I suspect the words "innovative", "insightful", and "original" may well be used to describe Waking Life by such people. What they will leave out is one critical detail which I touched on earlier - Waking Life sucks. I am comfortable with calling it the worst movie I have ever seen. Turning now to the 4-point scale:

1.) Quality - I will grant Waking Life a decent rating here, but only if you are deaf. Visually, the movie captured my attention for at least 5 minutes. Showgirls captured my attention for longer, however, and few would suggest it was a good movie. The actors in Waking Life seemed to know their lines. However, at the end of 5 minutes, I was visibly agitated with the arrogance of the film. To me, it appeared to be rejoicing in its own deep thought. Give me Jack Handy anytime.

2.) Entertainment - absolutely none unless you count the adrenaline rush one gets from walking out of a movie.

3.) Comedy - there was no room for comedy as the movie was too "innovative", "insightful", and "original".

4.) Nudity - This definitely could have helped the movie. If there was a hope of nudity, even in the weird distorted cartoon form that would have been provided, I may have been able to tough it out for a bit longer.



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