That's possibly the worst frame of mind to watch this movie with.
The cable company's description (paraphrased): "Guy thinks his love doll has become jealous"
What conclusions could be drawn from that? It's vague enough to cover just about any kind of film. I'm hip, I'm aware of Real Dolls and their like, as well as their obsessive owners, the webpages said owners make for their "girls" -- and the websites of Doll "surgeons" -- people whose job is to fix the often grotesque injuries inflicted on these silicone surrogates. And I find the whole scene indescribably hilarious and creepy.
'Of course', I thought to myself after reading the description. 'Doll fixation is ripe for comedy. This movie is a comedy: it's a love triangle consisting of a socially-clumsy guy, his Doll(which is strangely aware/alive-like), and the living, breathing girl of his dreams/"the other woman".'
Stupid, stupid me.
"Love Object" is not a comedy. It is, at best, a series of scenes strung together in such a way as to lend fantastic support to the claim that some people just aren't fit to be with, well, /other people/.
The film does have some funny moments -- mostly about the guy and his especially quiet "girlfriend" -- but is in all other aspects a suspense/horror film -- and I'd have liked it a lot more if it had been able to be more than one of those at a time. At any given point in the movie, there is the feeling that it is either trying to be funny, or trying to be upsetting -- and, aside from a few moments where things fall into place perfectly, it does neither particularly well.
Notes:
5/10: It was better than the average schlock, and had some good scenes.
The cable company's description (paraphrased): "Guy thinks his love doll has become jealous"
What conclusions could be drawn from that? It's vague enough to cover just about any kind of film. I'm hip, I'm aware of Real Dolls and their like, as well as their obsessive owners, the webpages said owners make for their "girls" -- and the websites of Doll "surgeons" -- people whose job is to fix the often grotesque injuries inflicted on these silicone surrogates. And I find the whole scene indescribably hilarious and creepy.
'Of course', I thought to myself after reading the description. 'Doll fixation is ripe for comedy. This movie is a comedy: it's a love triangle consisting of a socially-clumsy guy, his Doll(which is strangely aware/alive-like), and the living, breathing girl of his dreams/"the other woman".'
Stupid, stupid me.
"Love Object" is not a comedy. It is, at best, a series of scenes strung together in such a way as to lend fantastic support to the claim that some people just aren't fit to be with, well, /other people/.
The film does have some funny moments -- mostly about the guy and his especially quiet "girlfriend" -- but is in all other aspects a suspense/horror film -- and I'd have liked it a lot more if it had been able to be more than one of those at a time. At any given point in the movie, there is the feeling that it is either trying to be funny, or trying to be upsetting -- and, aside from a few moments where things fall into place perfectly, it does neither particularly well.
Notes:
- If Gunther van Hagen's "Body Worlds" exhibit made you uncomfortable, you may not want to watch this movie. Or maybe you would.
- That Nikki is such a creepy, creepy looking doll only serves to show how utterly pathetic the male lead is. Even for a fake woman, she looks AWFUL.
5/10: It was better than the average schlock, and had some good scenes.