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The Lookout
Movie Stats & Links

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeff Daniels, Matthew Goode, Isla Fisher, Carla Gugino
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Miramax
Web Site: thelookout-movie.com
Kiddie Movie: Better leave them with the sitter.
Date Movie: If she likes an intelligent kind of film.
Gratuitous Sex: No frontal nudity, but there's some getting it on.
Gratuitous Violence: Some decent quality kills.
Action: No chasing here.
Laughs: A chuckle or two.
Memorable Scene: It did look pretty cool driving at night, with your lights off, in a sea of lightning bugs.
Memorable Quote: "Am I dead?"
Directed By: Scott Frank
Produced By: Walter F. Parkes, Laurence Mark, Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber

The Lookout
A Movie Review

MPAA Rated - R

It's 1:42 Long

A Review by
The Dude on the Right
Just the other day I stumbled upon "10 Things I Hate About You" on cable and I wondered about two of the characters. One was Bianca, played by Larisa Oleynik, and the other was Cameron, played by Joseph Gorden-Levitt. IMDBing them I found that Larisa’s career has been a little spotty, with some TV work and small-budget films. Joseph’s credits made me remember his stint on "3rd Rock from the Sun," but film-wise, he’s pretty much been following the same path. Then I saw a trailer for "The Lookout" and say to myself, "Self, that’s that dude from ’10 Things I Hate About You.’ I wonder if his acting has improved with age?" I’ll tell you what; in "The Lookout" he was great.

This review will be a little tricky because I don’t want to give too many things away, especially for a movie as entertaining as this one. Here’s some of the basics…

Joseph Gorden-Levitt plays Chris Pratt. Chris was the shit in high school. His parents were loaded, he’s got the hot girlfriend, he kicks ass in sports, and he is pretty much set for life. Then his life takes a tragic turn as a car accident kills a couple of his friends, but more importantly for this movie, leaves him with brain damage that causes him to easily forget the simplest of things. To combat this Chris uses a little notebook to help him remember things from day to day, like appointments he might have, or names of people he has met, or pick-up lines at bars. Chris is still able to function, though. He drives a car, stops at a local bar, and is holding down a job as the night janitor at a small-town bank where his hopes turn to one day when he might get a bank teller position. But he also needs some help sometimes, especially with making dinner (it’s hard to open a can when you can’t remember you have an electric can-opener on the counter). There to help him is his friend, Lewis (Jeff Daniels). Lewis is sort of a wise-ass at times, and is blind.

Then one day Gary (Matthew Goode) comes into Chris’ life, and begins to get into Chris’ head. A lot of manipulation is starting to take place, complete with setting Chris up with a "girlfriend," Isla Fisher as Luvlee Lemons, and yes, Luvlee Lemons is her stripper name and she doesn’t dance anymore, or so she says, but she does have sex with Chris. Getting laid aside, Gary works to convince Chris that his life could be so much better with one thing – money, and he could help Chris get some money if Chris would only help Gary rob the bank that Chris works at.

So as to not spoil anything else in this movie I will leave the story synopsis at that because mentioning just about anything else might tip you off to some of the fantastic twists and turns that aren’t totally preposterous, character development that builds nicely, or just ruin something as simple as the importance of a shoelace (I don't think that ruins anything, though).

On just about every level "The Lookout" works, from Chris’ mental disability, to Lewis not being able to see, to Gary being a bad man (and it took me a long time to realize that Gary is the same dude from "Chasing Liberty"), to the shoot-outs, to the sex, and to Chris’ family. There are twists, turns, and even a couple of laughs.

If you are looking for a generic, bombastic bank heist movie with lots of violence and sex, this movie isn’t it. If you are looking for a fascinating movie where you might actually have to think, that also happens to involve a bank heist with lots of violence and some sex, "The Lookout" will be great. For me I loved it, and it’s 5 stars out of 5, but I can understand if this movie isn’t your cup of tea so I’m sorry if you go to this movie on my recommendation and don’t like it.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

 

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