How to Be (2008)

Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Art (Robert Pattinson) is a depressed poet musician who is searching for some meaning in his life. His mother (Rebecca Pidgeon) doesn't get it. His girlfriend breaks up with him. He finds a self-help web site touting Dr. Ellington (Powell Jones)'s book "It's Not Your Fault". He is so in awe that he convinces the author to come live with him.I don't get the humor. It is undoubtedly very quirky. But it's also very dull. There is no energy anywhere on the screen. Robert Pattinson does a good and proper job of portraying this confused depressed kid. I think he's the only one working here. Everybody else is ridiculously mannered. The doctor is super creepy without being funny. Rebecca Pidgeon is stiff as a board.The plot, the writing, the dialog, the acting all lack any power. It's only an indie is not a good excuse. This is really a movie for Pattinson fans only. Because he's the only good thing here.

Existential angst takes a quirky turn in this hilariously funny story about a young man's search for himself. Poor Art, alone in himself he is trying his best to "do the right thing", but what exactly that means to him is unclear. His only goal appears to ascribe a wish to be a writer/musician, but his talent seems not to bear toward his goal.Art's lack of direction is further confused by his enlistment of a self-help guru whose help is complicated by his own disappointed life experiences. Lacking a clear sense of direction from family, friends and a supposed professional, his only recourse seems to be to rely on his innate feelings about what he wants out of life.Art, as portrayed by Robert Pattinson, is at times, funny, whinny, self-absorbed, confused, and as retrospectively ridiculous as all of us can be at that age. Mr. Pattinson's portrayal is hilariously funny and almost campy and as always, he makes the movie even more watchable.

In my opinion, I thought this was a wonderful film for anybody who can relate. I've recently lived through this type of situation and the confusion, sadness and disjointedness Art feels trough out the film is all very... what word would be best to describe this... exact. Or almost. The film has been given the title of a comedy and, I agree. Though the production is more of a drama, you do have your sudden outbursts of laughter in those unexpected moments of comedic weirdness. I also appreciated the range of different actors in the film. It's in these types of movies you can actually see real acting talent. It's a must watch for any teen who is lost right now.

I also attended a viewing in Chicago (I was dragged along). I'm British myself, I love edgy humor and good writing, I didn't find it here.Virtually the entire audience were die hard Robert Pattinson fans, some even wearing the T-Shirts - I'd never heard of the guy before that day. I'm pretty sure he could have starred at a wall for 2 hours and still got 10 stars from a lot of people reviewing.The whole thing is very amateurish, you can tell it's a festival kind of movie, and in this case it isn't a good thing. The comic timing is terrible which makes it really hard to laugh at anything, it was more cringe-worthy - although again, in a cinema full of Pattinson fans he merely had to make the slightest gesture and the place was filled with roars of laughter – I was left just looking around in disbelief!Good enough concept but an absolute fail on the execution side. I very much doubt this is going to find a distributor, as they see exactly what I see – And with the same lack of bias (i.e. not being in love with the lead actor!)