REVIEW: Aloha

3/10 - Perfect movie to leave on the TV for your cats when you go out. 

I really like Cameron Crowe, even though his movies aren't pushing the limits of filmmaking. At his worst he captures heart and sincerity in his movies, and that's better than most. I also really like Emma Stone, who doesn't. Bradley Cooper, yes please. Rachel McAdams another delight. Bill Murray?! Are you kidding, sign me up for this film.

None of those talented people could save Aloha. It's a shallow snooze-fest with nothing worthwhile to say. Halfway through I was wishing someone would buy a Zoo.

Aloha follows Brian a military contractor (Bradley Cooper) as he dicks around on Hawaii going between millionaires who want to exploit the Hawaiian resources (Bill Murray and Alec Baldwin) and the native Hawaiians, inexplicably represented by Emma Stone. Brian's ex-wife is also there with her new husband (Rachel McAdams and John Krasinski) where they do some stuff with their kids.

There is very little about Aloha that doesn't feel contrived. I've come to expect Cameron Crowe rom-coms to feature very little conflict and represent more personal journeys, and this is almost an attempt to do the opposite. It's so story heavy that it doesn't play to any of Crowe's strengths and it just an incomprehensible bore. Even Bradley Coopers character doesn't come across as likable, and all the other characters seem to exist solely as predictable roadblocks. The story becomes a diluted cocktail of American military pride, astrophysics, Hawaiian culture, and romantic feelings, where none of those story points fully come through, and all them them become weaker in combination.

I can't even sign off on this film representing Hawaiian culture despite the name. There's the obvious Emma Stone controversy that I can't add to, other than to agree that she was a terrible casting choice and her character does Hawaii a disservice.

Perhaps I'm disappointed with the film because I had hoped that beyond the initial kick back the film faced, there might be something redeeming about it. I couldn't find anything to make this movie worthwhile. There's no major trainwreck moment, it's just the kind of movie that makes you want to netflix and nap.

IMDb - Aloha (5.5)
Wikipedia - Aloha
Rotten Tomatoes - Aloha (19%)
Amazon.ca - Aloha