MIMDB score: 8.0
Current IMDB score: 7.9
Director: James Ponsoldt
Main Actors you care about: Jason Segel, Jesse Eisenberg, Joan Cusack
Why I liked it: I haven't read any books by David Foster Wallace. I've listened to a few of his interviews and his commencement speech which I've all liked. I've always thought from those that he was a smart guy. From the movie I got that he was amazing person. Unfortunately if he knew he was amazing then he no longer would be. He's a really interesting guy. He's another character to live up to but in this case he was (at least one time) a real person. That makes it that much better of a character. Jason Segel did as good as you would have want him to.
What stands out: The conversations. It kind of gets at what the book Infinite Jest (D.F. Wallace's book) talks about. It gets into that but I found him as a person is what stood out. He's a solid guy who's smart, normal, and alive. As one of the ending point gets at, the movie makes you feel not alone in the world. Wallace seemed to be really good at saying what was in his mind. Anytime you can do that and not be too weird it's pretty amazing. People really respond to real people.
What I would change: I might come back to this and change this section. I've only seen this currently once in theaters since it just came out. A lot of the fans of David Foster Wallace said this movie shouldn't come out. It goes against what David Foster Wallace wanted or stood for. Based on the movie I disagree. He would want it to come out but maybe not do well. He wants people to understand his point of view. He's just a really humble guy and didn't want to make a big fuss over it. Just watch it, understand it, and take from what you need in order to live your life better is what I would think he would have wanted for it.
Favorite Line(s)/Scene:
Even though it's a odd feeling scene, I like the scene where David Foster Wallace tells David Lipsky to "just be a good guy." I feel like I do that all the time to people. It doesn't really do anything because people feel like they are being a good guy. I feel like I'm a good guy but I'm not. I thought I was a honest person until I watched this movie. David Foster Wallace seemed soooooo much more honest than I've ever been really. Maybe I should not worry about what people will think of my honesty and just be even more honest. As I've said, people respond to that way more than the fake part of conversation. I try and not have fake conversations but I should probably be trying harder.
As David Lipsky is leaving and you realize the movie is drawing to an end you get kind of sad that it's the movie is going to end soon as well. Well done by the movie to give you the same feeling I'm sure David Lipsky was feeling when he had to leave David Foster Wallace.
The scene were Wallace talks about the jumping from a burning building. I used to think suicide didn't make sense. If you think of it like a person jumping from a burning building as the last real thing a person can do then it makes much more sense I feel like. Instead of it being a crazy or selfish idea I think it becomes an act of final desperation. It's much more understandable that way.
Similar Movies/TV Shows: Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight series. Dinner with Andre. It's mostly a conversation movie.
"Side" note: His commencement speech should make you re-evaluate your life if you haven't heard it. That plus the movie will probably make me end up reading Infinite Jest.
If I could have asked him one question during one of his book signings it would have been: "Why are you so hard on yourself?"
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