Movie Review: All or Nothing

Story: Choose Nothing and save money. I was very disappointed with this long, overrated, boring, nothing ever happens, film. The usually, wonderful director, Mike Leigh, has laid a big fat egg. My NYC Marathon buddy and I chose this post Marathon day film as a little reward for our superlative 26.2 mile effort of the day before. Boy, were we ever upset. If we weren't so pooped from the Marathon we would have gotten up and left the theater.

Leigh, who usually does the English underclass proud, this time brings us a bunch of losers with no ambition, no hope and nowhere to evolve. There are three main stories about families who live in the 'projects'. One family is more pathetic than the next. I hated all but one character and found myself wishing them harm. (I apologize for those violent thoughts, but I hated them.) It was hard to choose which lost soul to despise more - the drunk, the grotesquely obese, the depressed, the abusive, the neighborhood whore, the masochist or the sadist. Leigh attempts to wrap everything up towards the end but I did not buy the transformation in the characters.

Acting: Timothy Spall, Lesley Manville and Ruth Sheen are all good despite this rotten, depressing project.

Critters: One doggie seen in the background, Luckily he ran away. I should have done the same.

Food: Some mystery meals were served. Much if it looked like gruel.

Visual Art: Thankfully, none. There was a poster of a dog and a cat.

Blatant Product Placement: Safeway

Soundtrack: Not loud enough to distract me but for one scene in a karaoke bar.

Theater Audience: A small group that looked like they were numbed as senseless as we were.

Squirm Scale: I squirmed at the endless pain of watching this.

Predictability Level: Who cared?

Tissue Usage: I cried because I paid $10 to see this swill.

Oscar Worthy: HA!

Nit Picking: Don't get me started.

Big Screen or Rental: Neither. Instead how about renting one of Mike Leigh's other gems: Topsy-Turvy, Career Girls, Secrets and Lies, Naked, Life Is Sweet.

Length: It seemed longer than the Marathon but was only 2 hours.

LOBO HOWLS: 2 (my buddy said I should give it a minus 2).