Meet Joe Black (1999, DVD)

I don t know why people hate this movie. I have actually admitted to real life persons that I have seen this movie, in its entirety and I get a mixture of facial expressions that mostly remind me of a cross between smelling a case of mothballs and bitter beer face. (Not a pretty combination, rest assured.)

I ve seen it twice now and I think it s pretty good for what it is about (as many have stated, including my pal Drdevience, it s the death takes a holiday concept.) I almost hated it too, but then something happened and I plugged on past the first twenty-five minutes and now I think it s really a good film. It really doesn t suck.

This movie is about a rich media mogul Bill Parish, played by the great Anthony Hopkins, who is coming to the end of his days just before his 65th birthday celebration. He is chosen by Mr. Personification of Death himself, played by Brad Pitt, to lead Death around and show him about the life and importance of mortals. Apparently Death has been "all work and no play" for the last several thousand years and now he's curiously drawn to a human who has lead a very great life. Caught in the middle is Claire Forlani s character Susan Parrish, who is devoted to her father but finds herself utterly attracted to Brad Pitt/Death.

So, instead of going through the usual opening, plot, characters, body, blah blah, conclusion, advice, .02 cents thing, I m going to go about it like so:

Reasons that could keep you from watching this movie for fear of suckage:

1. The beginning: Perhaps it is the part where Brad Pitt s initial character (who goes unnamed) first meets Susan Parrish in a coffee shop. Sure, they hit if off well, and Brad is just oozing cuteness and smiles and sweet nothing to Susan who happily oozes right back. They can t take their eyes off each other and all is well with the world. But then after numerous cups of coffee they depart, and as they both walk away, the sequence ensues for like ten minutes where they each take turns turning around to look back longingly at each other when the other one isn't looking, yet neither one goes back to get a name or a phone number or even another whiff. It s really sad and kind of nerve wracking. But what comes next is worse.

Have you ever seen someone s body get bounced off of one fast moving vehicle, only to be flung mercilessly onto another moving in the opposite direction? Pretty violent and watching this part come out of nowhere as it does is kind of like getting hit in the stomach with a brick. Hard. It s the one unpredictable scene in the movie. Kinda stinks right? But Brad had to become Death somehow

2. The way Death is (or Brad acts): So, the happy and overly talkative chap in the coffee shop is replaced by a dark, silent observer who stares wide eyed in reply to almost everything and speaks in a monotone. Well, how did you expect Death to act? Did you think Death was going to run around in sundresses dancing jigs and singing show tunes? Perhaps if this was a musical but there are no current or future plans for this to be so, sorry about that if I got your hopes up. I have to hand it to Brad though, he goes from one outgoing, happy character to the completely other end of the spectrum in about ten minutes. I think he does well in this role and shows he does have acting talent even if lots of people can t stand his utter cuteness and avoid him like the plague. AND we get to hear him use a Jamaican accent a bunch of times, which is just priceless really. (If you don't see this movie for any other reason, then go for the Brad Jamaican thing, it's great.)

3. Locale, Locale, Locale: Yep, that s about it. This movie only takes place in a few actual locations, no more than you can count on one hand. There s the Parrish estate, his company, a coffee shop and the hospital. That pretty much wraps everything up. But William Parrish s house is really pretty and expansive and the fireworks at his birthday party are nifty. And we get to see how rich people live, and what they eat and what kind of blankets they sleep on. Interesting. So even though we are mostly at the Parrish house while this drama unfolds, it s not bad digs. The movie could have been worse. It could've been shot only in the bathroom stall on Brad Pitts actor trailor (ewwww... or, if you are into that, YAY!)

4. The Predictability Factor: Okay, so right from the start, it is easy to separate the Good Guys from the Bad Guys in this film. One guy in here is especially slimy and it s easy to pick him out from the get go, couldn t be easier if he were wearing a hot green top hat with a flashing billboard attached proclaiming that he was up to no good. Granted, he doesn t spend the entire movie winking furiously and spouting lines like I ll call ya later babe. But he does stick out.

And we know the end of the movie before it even starts, but if you don t, I m not gonna spoil it here, as I have a tendency to do sometimes

But that shouldn t stop anyone from enjoying this film. Look at How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Everyone and their Aunt Petunia knew what the end of that movie was going to look like, but it still topped the box office opening weekend. Sometimes predictability can be a good thing because people like happy endings. Movies are usually recreation for most people and who wants to sit through a long film in their spare time only to have it end in a major high suckage type way? (Not gonna name names COUGH-A.I.-COUGH)

I mean, yes, this idea has been done, but HASN'T EVERYTHING? If we restricted film to only what is new and fresh, we'd go without half the time because, well, humans have been around for a long time and just about everything cute,sick,happy,twisted,lovely,coma-inducing that a person can do has not only been done, but a film was made about it. So there. New twists are always good to explore at least...

5. The film s length: True, this movie rolls credits at the 3 hour mark. When I rented it from the video store, I was surprised to find it was two VHS tapes instead of the normal one. In my personal opinion, they do stretch some scenes in this movie a bit long, and the whole thing could ve done well in two hours, not three, but it s not like you are sitting there watching the thing going MY GOD WHEN WILL THIS EVER END?! SOMEONE KILL ME NOW!!! It goes by alright, seems to flow well. I suppose.

Wait, this movie is really 180 minutes?! Damn! What the heck. This thing is as long as Titanic. I bet if you have not seen it, you are wondering what could possibly be so special to warrant that long of a length. But, if you get into it, watching the characters go through their odd interactions, you might actually enjoy it, so the time won t be TOO much of a bother (STILL, 3 hours?!?! *sigh*)

The real reason to watch this movie is not Brad anyway it s Anthony Hopkins. He shines in this. When he is going through his physical crisis at the beginning, wondering if whether or not he is going to die and talking with the voice of death, he really puts his all into his acting and the script. Watching Bill Parrish have to introduce "Joe Black" to everyone is his life without divulging the the true secret behind his situation is really great. Anthony brings a lot to the table. No matter what character Anthony Hopkins plays, it always feels like HE IS the person he is portraying utterly and completely, no doubts to be had whatsoever. It is obvious he really puts his all into everything he does, and this film is no exception.

While I probably would not own this movie myself, I think it s worth a see. It isn t lacking in good acting on all accounts anymore than it s lacking in videotape. It s can go from quite emotional and dramatic to silly and happy in a matter of seconds and it s effect overall is a good one. The relationships between Susan and her father and Susan and 'Death' are deep and involving. And, of course, the ending is (DON T LOOK!) a happy one, strange but fulfilling at the least.

I am left to feel that I am glad I saw this movie. It's more than just average and
it just doesn t suck.

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Here's my Bud's review: DrDevience's Take on Meet Joe Black

Here's who participated (from Doc's review):

This wonderful W/O Brough to you by: SurgRN911 & SusiDee34
Yourcloud & DrDevience (Me and My bud!)
Stephen_Murray & not decided yet
Psychovant & not decided yet
Mimi369 & Corpgent
Artbyjude & Granniemose
jankp & tfrentz
skbreese & telynor
jeremy1456 & rock_on
ifif1938 & DrDevience (There she goes again! :)