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Movie Review - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
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(What this rating means)
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| Director: |
Michel Gondry |
| Starring: |
Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Elijah Wood, and Kirsten Dunst |
| Rated: |
R (language, some drug and sexual content) |
| Length: |
108 minutes |
| Genre: |
Comedy/Drama |
| Website: |
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind |
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PLOT
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When Joel (Jim Carrey) finds out that his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet) has had her memories
of him and their relationship erased, he gets upset and decides he wants Clementine erased from *his* memory.
However, complications arise during the memory wipe. Joel, in his mind, comes face-to-face with his
memories of Clementine and decides there are some that he doesn't want to let go. But he can't wake up
and stop the process. Will he find a way to hold onto the memories, or will Clementine be erased from
his mind and life forever? A unique look inside Jim Carrey's head ensues.
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JOHNNY'S TAKE
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NOTE: In honor of this movie's premise, part of this review
will take place in my head. Everything written between asterisks can be assumed to be taking place in my head.
Thank you.
Have you ever had a relationship that went bad, and you wish you could just forget everything about it?
Ever had a person in your life that was nothing but a constant source of irritation?
*Note to self: make sure you don't mention any family members by name in this review*
What would you do if you had the opportunity to erase all memory of an individual? Is it worth coping with
the bad in order to hang onto the good? Or would it be better to have no recollection at all? These questions
are at the root of "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which I will now refer to as ESOTSM.
*Man I'm clever. So clever, in fact, that maybe one day a process WILL be invented that can
erase someone's memory, and it'll be called "Esotism." I plan on taking credit.*
This is a movie that people will either love or hate. And believe me, plenty of people won't like it.
Several people left the screening I attended, including a group of about 7 or 8 teenagers.
*Punks. Jim Carrey's not talking with his butt cheeks so you high tail it out of here? Wusses.
So sorry you were required TO THINK during a movie.*
After the movie, I overheard an elder gentleman refer to it as "a piece of [crap] movie."
*Crotchety old fart. What's the matter, your Depends leaking or something?*
I can understand why a lot of people won't really care for the movie. If you're expecting "Bruce Almighty" or
"Dumb and Dumber," then you're going to be sorely disappointed. The movie definitely has some funny moments,
but it's not a classic Jim Carrey comedy. Just so you'll know where I'm coming from, let me point out that
I love Jim Carrey's crazy antics in movies such as "Ace Ventura," "Dumb and Dumber," etc. But I also like
to keep an open mind when he tries something different.
And this is definitely different. The majority of the movie takes place in Carrey's head as all memories of
Kate Winslet are being erased. I don't know why anybody would want to erase all memories of Kate Winslet
though. She does a great job in this movie, and I think she looks great. Very captivating personality, and
hey, I even think the blue and bright red hair colors are cute.
*Ah, Kate Winslet. Now there's a gal for us guys who like for a woman to have a motor in the
back of her Honda. I'm using Sir Mix-A-Lot quotes now? Good thing the readers can't read my mind.*
Carrey does a great job, and he works really well with Winslet. Their relationship is believable, and I
was genuinely interested in seeing how everything would turn out. This isn't what I'd classify as a
thriller, but it was more suspenseful than most of the thrillers *COUGHtakinglivessecretwindowandtwistedHACK*
I've seen lately. I was intrigued as I watched Carrey try to wake himself up and as he tried to hide
Winslet into the deep, dark recesses of his mind to keep her from being completely erased. Like the big sap
that I apparently am, I found myself rooting for Carrey to hold on to his memories, and if that didn't
happen, then I hoped they would find each other again.
*Man, that sounded a bit too sappy. Oh well, as long as I don't draw further attention to
it, then I should escape this review with my manhood intact.*
There's also an interesting twist involving Kirsten Dunst as an assistant who works at the Memory Erasing
Center (or whatever it's called), but that's all I'll say about that.
*Yeah, it's best I stop there. The movie might be spoiled if I actually told them that
Kirsten Dunst... wait, somebody may be in my head...*
I'll eventually see ESOTSM again because I'm sure there's plenty of stuff I missed the first time. I
don't know if I'll buy the DVD, but I'll at least rent it because I've just gotta hear the director's
commentary on this one. This is some weird, wild stuff, and I wanna know what exactly was going on in
screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's head when he wrote this.
*Or do I?*
Would I ever want to go to the trouble of having some of my memories erased? Nah. Good or bad, my memories
constitute who I was, which directly led to who I now am. You start messing with that stuff, and there's
no guarantee on what could happen. It's not worth the risk.
*Johnny Betts, Doctor of Philosophy. Booya!*
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MAMA'S APPROVAL
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It contains more profanity (including quite a few f-words) than you'd usually expect from a Jim Carrey movie.
There is some sexuality, and a scene where we see a side-view of Kate Winslet in a thong checking out a bruise.
Not exactly my mom's type of movie. It most likely won't appeal to the youngsters either.
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TRAILER COMPARISON
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My immediate reaction to the trailer was, "That looks weird. I don't know what to think." Welp, guess
what, it *is* weird. The trailer does a good job of grabbing your attention without giving too much away.
If you're expecting a weird movie, then congrats, you'll get it.
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THE GIST
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If you're looking for something original and unique, then "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" definitely
matches the description. But keep in mind that this is a movie that requires your brain to participate.
If you can engage yourself in the movie and take the effort to think about what's going on, then you should
enjoy it. But if all you want is a rubber-faced Jim Carrey running around shouting "Well all righty then,"
then you might find yourself disappointed.
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