Jerome's Razor (2002) User Reviews

Like a California Blond...

[mnjacob · 7/10 · 19 February 2009]

...Jerome's Razor is beautiful to look at but there's not much beneath the surface. But not for a lack of trying, that's for sure.

The film is bifurcated - the first act has our protagonist, Jerome, living out the life of a mid-20s worker bee in his cubicle hive. Jerome narrates his frustrations in a detached, zen-like voice as we watch him fail to advance in life and love. Playing out like a dark, philosophical comedy, the first 30 minutes of 'Razor' is excellent if the production values occasionally show through. The pacing, the cinematography and the acting by Marcus Edward are tone perfect - qualities even better understand over time after seeing this screened in 2002 and buying it when it finally came out on DVD in 2008.

The second part as Jerome ditches his failed life for the west and here the film gets about as rough as the mountains that figure so heavily in the film. A dreadfully paced screen in a tramway station is followed by Jerome entering his own Hotel California, except this one is populated by mostly bad actors. To be fair, they're not given much to work with and since the audience isn't sure whether this is real, an illusion or something in between, we're not sure if the performances are intentional or not.

As Jerome falls in with a group of mountain climbers, the film drags but is absolutely stunning for an indie. I see why this film is called the best looking indie in circulation - high praise! Death, danger and overwrought acting follows, but the climbing scenes look pretty realistic and gritty. If the film comes out for rental at some point, I'd recommend at least giving it a look.

Spoiled Beauty

[john103179-1 · 5/10 · 24 February 2009]

To get the maximum enjoyment out of "Jerome's Razor" try muting the volume after about the first 20-25 minutes and just sit back and watch the scenery and cinematography. Weighed down by poor dialog and poorer acting (in parts), JR can't match the visual prowess or promise it delivers early on.

Jerome (Marcus Edward) starts off as a 9-to-5 drone whose deeply unhappy with his status both personally and professionally. The first act captures this wonderfully with some great supporting performances from the actors playing Jerome's at-work jockish nemesis and his neurotic girlfriend. The film moves at a brisk pace and delivers a few genuinely moving and funny moments.

But when Jerome decides to throw his current life away to go exploring out west, the film stalls as quickly as his truck does in the mountains. Falling in with a group of philosophical mountain-climbers, JR as a film hits clichés and false notes - but at least it does so against a gorgeous backdrop and a few realistic mountain-climbing scenes.

All in all, not bad for an indie given what else is out there. Certainly much better looking than most.

Short film trapped inside a feature's body

[a_bosch-555-685775 · 5/10 · 14 December 2012]

Razor is a 25min short trying to be a 90min feature. Needless to say, it doesn't work terribly well. The first 25 or so minutes are actually very good: insightful, funny, provocative. The rest? Not really.

None of the characters are fully flushed out, especially Jerome, the lead. Having somewhat stock characters works for humor and the girlfriend and annoying coworker are a lot of fun. It's like watching a meditative version of The Office with Jerome as Jim. I liked it.

Maybe because I so enjoyed the first 25/30 minutes, I really disliked the last hour. The whole mountain climbing thing is a strange turn and the guy playing Thomas is a horrific actor playing a terrible character - killing him off was a good decision by the filmmakers; a better one would have been to never introduced him. I feel a little bad saying this since I know one of the other actors in the film. But the acting is really poor for most of the cast we meet after the first 25mins.

If you could pro-rate the cost of renting this on Amazon, I'd recommend it. Or if you're a fan of mountain-climbing movies, I would say take a chance. Otherwise I'd pass.

Philosophical

[jswon-546-760631 · 6/10 · 4 December 2012]

I like indies and this film came up in my amazon queue. The rental was cheap while I can't say I loved the film, it got me thinking a lot longer than I would have expected.

The movie's philosophical core is strong and struck a cord for a guy working 50-60 hrs a week and wondering if it's getting him anywhere. Jerome seems perhaps too weak a character to fully flush out the feelings of loss, desire, ambition, and frustration that are hinted at in the first 30mins. Although maybe that's the point as Jerome stands in for the "everyman." All the reviews I've read really talk about how much the film changes about a half hr in and they're right. The philosophical bend tries to get stronger but becomes weaker as Jerome attempts to get answers to his concerns about his life's meaning. The Occam's Razor aspect cuts best here (pun intended, I'm sorry) as Jerome keeps stripping away the reasons for his misery until he finds the core somewhere in the mountains.

No one has really commented on the supporting cast, and it's an uneven bunch. The actors in the first half hr are good (the guy playing Jerome's co-worker is a riot), but the actors for the rest of the film are pretty weak. But I think that's also a reflection of a script that has a great first, a weak second act and a non-existent third.

Still, I was left thinking about my own life decisions and the film hung around with me for quite a while afterwards.

surprisingly good

[smithnkenny · 7/10 · 28 September 2012]

This title came up on my Amazon recommendations page and for $3 I thought why not? I'm glad I rented it.

Some of the other reviewers have mentioned how different the film is after the first act or so, and I have to agree. But it's a fun and touching first act and extremely well-paced as the main character of Jerome gets bounced around by co-workers both professionally and romantically.

Where I might disagree a little with the other reviews is the rest of the film is only really different in pacing; the underlying motives for Jerome remain the same, only now he's mountain climbing.

The only real weak spot was the Thomas character. If the goal was a messiah-like following ala "The Master", he totally bombed. The actor seems more at home playing Joey Tribbiani's cousin than a philosopher. Otherwise, I liked the acting.