“A Real Pain”- This is easily one of the best films I watched this year

OP = Jesse Eisenberg

I saw it a couple weeks ago. I really enjoyed it a lot.

R2 yes. It’s a good film. I was pleasantly surprised

in theaters or streaming? i'll watch it if it's streaming.

It’s in theaters.

Holocaust = automatic nom

Yeah but it’s not a Holocaust film.

I saw it with a friend and we both found it annoying. They are unbelievable as family members and the story is oddly superficial despite the setting. Kieran is basically playing Roman Roy as a stoner. It would have been better with a stronger cast and director.

OP, where did you watch it? I don’t see it on any of the streamers.

R9 the movie theater. It’s a theatrical film. It has to be to be considered for Oscars

MAGA is likely to be dis appointed that there aren’t that many hardened criminal types to deport.

Oops wrong thread

R10 for one day.

R9 theater. It’s in theaters. I saw it this afternoon after my dentist appointment.

And it was amazing.

R13 no. The rules changed. Movies now have to be in theaters in a handful of cities for a certain amount of days now to be eligible. No more of that one day shit.

It’s been out for 4 weeks. It’s a small film. Not lots of promotion or anything.

Thanks R15, I didn’t know they’d changed it to seven consecutive days.

I didn't enjoy it very much, because both leads are portraying very damaged individuals. Their pain manifests itself in very different ways, but it makes both essentially unlikeable. There also wasn't much backstory on what created their damage - if that back story had been there, perhaps I would have been more sympathetic. . I wanted to care, but my overriding thought was that if I met either of these individuals in a social setting, (or both), I'd run away as soon as socially acceptable to do so. However, I have a friend who really liked it, so someday maybe I'll watch it again. I do give the leads props for going all in in their portrayals of their characters.

R18 and it has to be in a certain amount of cities now. It used to be it could play in just one city. Now it has to be a handful of cities

Jennifer Grey interview

I hope Eisenberg kicks out Ratboy for the fifth slot.

Timmy isn’t the 5th spot. Hes in Top 3. Mescal is 5th most likely

R18 “ Expanded theatrical run of seven days, consecutive or non-consecutive, in 10 of the top 50 U.S. markets, no later than 45 days after the initial release in 2024.”

And if it is moved to streaming before those 7 days it is automatically not eligible.

R22: Well I hope Timmy gets kicked out completely.

A Real Pain is this year's The Holdovers: the small, feel good movie.

The Astra Awards didn’t even nominate Mescal. They nominated Glen Powell in Hit Man over him.

Best Actor

Adrien Brody – The Brutalist

Colman Domingo – Sing Sing

Glen Powell – Hit Man

Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain

Ralph Fiennes – Conclave

Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown

I hope they don't give the globe to Powell but I can see it going either way, Powell or Eisenberg.

The Astra Awards don't mean anything.

Jessie Eisenberg was shockingly hot in Manodrome. Just his body and the way he walked and spoke. It made me want a toxically masculine boyfriend.

R28 they’re actually a respected award

I finally got around to seeing it at the cinema yesterday. I thought the film was very well done and acted.

It’s an enjoyable film

It wasn't until the closing credits that I realized the woman playing Marcia is Jennifer Grey. What she did to her face makes her unrecognizable.

She’s looked like that since the 90s

R24, dream on, dear. Not happening.

R35 She had multiple surgeries, not just a simple nose job.

R36: Oh yes it will happen!

Don't watch many movies, but strangely, the ones I've watched were because they were recommended here. Am now retired and disabled and have been watching more, streaming or downloaded from my partner's illicit website. He likes Shoot 'em ups, SciFi, and Fantasy. I like quirky and/or enlightening. Any recommendations?

A really good movie. I watched it yesterday. I really enjoyed their performances.

R18 that’s not a recent rule change. They just expanded the places where it can first play in a theater. The rules have always required that a movie play in a Los Angeles Count commercial movie theater for not less than a week starting before Dec. 31.

It's going to start streaming on 12/31 on Hulu, Apple + & Prime (I think).

It comes to Hulu on the 16th

I loved it and did not expect to. I’m pleased (and a bit surprised) by all the awards attention Culkin is getting. I haven’t seen “The Brutalist “ yet (it has opened where I live) and so Guy Pearce may knock me over (and I thought Clarence Maclin was superb in “Sing Sing” and would be a worthy contender), but I hope Culkin gets the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. I think Eisenberg is a long shot for Best Actor, but I’d like to see him at least get a nomination.

Eisenberg will get nominated for Original Screenplay. He wrote it.

I’ll never watch a film again with Jesse Eisenberg in a starring role. I’m not falling for it.

Your loss

As a side note, the tour guide played by Will Sharpe is very cute.

R48 we know who he is.

We do?

Yes r50. We watched White Lotus.

I did watch season one of White Lotus but haven't seen season two yet. I guess Theo James and Will Sharpe are two reasons to remedy that.

If I was on a tour with these two characters, I would probably want to kill them, but I enjoyed the movie

[quote] Yeah but it’s not a Holocaust film.

Then why is their tour group called the Nazi German Holocaust tour?

R54 a group of Jews in 2024 wanting to visit a Holocaust site (which is 5 minutes of the movie) during a tour makes it a Holocaust movie? It’s the same category as Schindler’s List because they visited the site?

It's primarily about the relationship of two cousins who were close as youngsters and decide to go on a trip together primarily to visit Poland to see the concentration camp she was in and her home.

R56 correct. Not a “holocaust film”

Holocaust adjacent.

[quote]I hope Eisenberg kicks out Ratboy for the fifth slot.

And I hope the sun will rise in the West one day, but that ain't happening either.

[QUOTE] I hope Eisenberg kicks out Ratboy for the fifth slot.

You must be a complete idiot if you think Chalamet currently occupies “the fifth slot” in that race. That, or you’ve never done this before.

The only way to watch from home is to give Bezos $19.99 to "buy it."

R15 oh really, did not know that. Thats dumb.

I loved it! My spouse hated it!

A real pain in the ass

R61 it comes to Hulu on the 16th

I really liked it. Screenplay may be the consolation prize for Eisenberg but I hope he gets an acting nomination. I don't think Culkin deserves to sweep everything but his work is very solid and deserves some recognition.

Culkin deserves it.

Watched it last night and loved it. Pitch perfect writing, direction and acting. And the tour of Poland was quite enlightening, too.

Two unlikable characters that you come to love by the end. And Will Sharpe, in what might have been an inconsequential throwaway role, is just...scrumptious.

Don't miss it.

Will it be anywhere else but Hulu? I hate to restart Hulu unless there are a plethora of things I could watch for my money's worth. I haven't had Hulu for probably over a year now.

Just watched it On Demand last night, r69.

LOVED IT!

I really liked it but I'm sorry Culkin doesn't do a damn awards worthy thing and he's not "supporting" in any way.

Husband got it off the internet. We both loved it. Culkin deserves recognition.

r72 - where, if you don't mind me asking? If you don't want to answer, that's okay too.

r72, I don't know and don't want to know. He calls it "The Russian Bot". It's some illegal website he's been using for years where people from around the world record movies and TV shows and post them before they're available on streaming channels. Sometimes the sound is way off the action. Sometimes a show is only available dubbed in Hungarian. The great thing is that you can get shows with all of the commercial ads edited out. I forget the name of the website but you have to do something with a VPN. The server is located in Sweden, I think. Not even sure why that matters. He ends up paying a low monthly fee for something that involves the VPN. Can you tell that I despise computer technology?

Jennifer Grey's surgery always makes me sad. She was so much better looking before. Now she just looks like a generic housewife from NYC.

R71 Culkin was amazing. He 100% deserves recognition.

As someone who's never seen much of Jesse Eisenberg (I think only The Social Network), never watched a lot of Succession, and only really knows Jennifer Grey (who actually plays a very small though effective role in this) from Dirty Dancing decades ago, I appreciated all of their performances immensely.

My lack of immediate familiarity with them may indeed have enhanced my watching experience. I get that Culkin does that schtick, but it really works for this character. Jennifer's surgery looks like it's settled very nicely and naturally in her mature years, and she seemed perfectly cast.

If Culkin getting that Oscar drives Jeremy Strong crazy, I'm all for it.

I really enjoyed this film.

And Will Sharpe is a lovely man. Just an observation.

It is supposed to start streaming on Hulu on Thursday, Jan 16, 2025.

I was looking forward to this and was seriously underwhelmed. Maybe I'm just grumpy and old and don't even really like movies any more? If you've seen Succession, Kieran's performance in this film as a flippant ADHD man-boy with a world of hidden pain won't feel new. And you'd do better rewatching the Funeral scene in the aforementioned show which is has far more meat on its bones... than this rather slight film does.

I guess I'm just tired of EVERY single character in every single 'imporant' film being afflicted with a kind of a postmodern inarticulacy. Like, we get it. We're all bumming around looking for meaning and for things to come together and matter and they often don't. Life is about missed connections, banal BS we *have* to do to get by.....and vaguely, as this film tries to suggest (but never fully gets there).....'generational trauma'. Whatever the f*ck that actually means.

I miss Joseph Campbell.

R81 you just sound like a ridiculous old bitter loser. Sorry to tell you. Your post reads as a parody and you don’t even realize it

I loved it. I agree with the above posters that Will Sharpe is an adorable delight.

Jennifer Grey, to me, is almost Lea Thompson.

A lovely, heartbreaking film.

Annoying. Culkin's part is cliched and he doesn't add much to it.

Culkin plays a slightly different character here than the one he played in Succession. I gave that show up one episode into season 2 as I couldn't put up with him again.

Watched it last night and thought it was really good. Culkin was great, but so was Eisenberg in the less “showy” role.

My only complaint is that they didn’t have any scenes of Will Sharpe naked.

R1 Kieran's charm? What charm?

Eisenberg’s got the more emotional story arc and developed character. I don’t get how or why Culkin is sweeping. Succession afterglow?

I was disappointed. I think we're supposed to find Culkin's character annoying but charming nonetheless, and I just found him annoying...If I had been on that tour, I would have regretted every minute he was with us.

Succession was just unwatchable. Nothing but self-involved unlikable characters. It was like a reality series but with trained actors.

Well, some were trained. And some were not. And some were trained badly.

[quote]I was disappointed. I think we're supposed to find Culkin's character annoying but charming nonetheless, and I just found him annoying...If I had been on that tour, I would have regretted every minute he was with us.

Ha! I was thinking that too - I actually thought the movie lost steam when the left the group. I imagine the rest of the group talking shit about both of them once they left. And I liked the Will Sharpe character too; if I was on his tour, I'd have listened with rapt attention.

I watched the movie this weekend & I thought there was an interesting story there: connecting with the pain and suffering of others, while trying to manage your own pain - but doing it in first class with a nice meal. But as others noted, I just found the man-boy routine annoying along with his attempt to make everything about him. And I could relate to the Eisenberg character of trying to care (babysit?) someone that doesn't want you to care for them.

The scenery was beautiful and there were some small, but nice performances, but when the movie ended, I wish it had spent less time on the angst of the Culkin character and his connection to Granny

They left the group toward the end of the movie… not much without the group.

I really liked the characters in the group and I'm guessing that maybe they originally had more to do that was ultimately cut for time. I would have liked a little more about them and less time with Culkin's angst.

They had as much to do as anyone. It’s a small and intimate film.

found it boring and uninspiring, Culkin was beyond annoying and overplayed all his scenes

Culkin was outstanding and riveting to watch

Exactly.

Odd to watch it tonight after Musk's salute-stunt at the inauguration this afternoon ... that observation didn't hit me until they did the tour of the camp. More than a million people murdered in a town I'd never heard of (or been taught).

Both actors were very good, but Eisenberg pulled the hat trick of writing, directing, and acting.

It's on Hulu

I saw it the other night and absolutely loved it. Kieran Culkin deserves an Oscar. That ending was devastating and it was nice to see Jennifer Grey again. One of the best movies of the year.

R102 what about the ending did you find devastating? It was a happy ending.

I just took the ending as Benji couldn't move forward; he ended exactly where he started. The Eisenberg character goes back to his family (and life filled with anxiety) while Benji is still stuck.

I think Benji wants to be stuck.

I give it 6 million gold stars

That was not a happy ending. It was quite sad to see that nothing has changed foer the KC character

I must live a sheltered life. I've never heard so many people say "fuck" in conversation quite so often as in this film.

Didn't make it worse or better, just a surprise to me.

R106 = Elon Musk

[quote]I must live a sheltered life. I've never heard so many people say "fuck" in conversation quite so often as in this film.

I kind of took Benji's language as an attempt to shock & annoy the others (including the Eisenberg character) & other than the older guy, none of them took the bait. They just seemed to let his rude behavior roll off of them

r64, LOL, if the movie was from Marcia's POV.

For me the movie was about survivor's guilt and how it impacted an entire generation(s). I've seen it manifest in many ways in people close to me, it's universal, as each member of the tour group demonstrated. IMO

I loved the film, but I thought Poland did not look particularly interesting and I wondered if that was something Eisenberg was invested in showing us. I imagine so much of the old country was destroyed by war and now so much of it seemed so Americanized or homogenized.

Krakow is a beautiful city R112 and the buildings were relatively unscathed from the war.

Well, that may well be true but it's not (to my eye) exactly what was on view in A Real Pain. I'm not saying it's an ugly city, just not shown to much advantage.

They didn’t show Krakow in the film.

Remember when Benji says of Maria shouldn’t be alone and that she has real sadness behind her eyes? It’s like a self description of him at the end of the movie?

(Of course it makes no sense that he’s gotten past security back to the boarding area.

Scoring the movie with Chopin was smart and thrifty..

Marcia, not Maria

Loved the Chopin score!

I watched it on HULU over the weekend. I was underwhelmed. I came to the conclusion as other posters that Culkin's character is pretty much version of Roman Roy with a drug problem. I definitely have seen it and in no way do I think he should win an Oscar for his portrayal.

Meh

(BTW, I have also seen THE BRUTALIST and Guy Pearce is so deserving of a nomination and supporting win)

Have you seen Anora r118? I'm hoping that hot young kinky Russian who played Igor gets a Supporting nom, too.

It was interesting to me that the characters never identified something that seemed obvious to me: that Kieran’s character was bipolar. The self-harm, the mood swings, the staying up all night.

R118 how many times are you gonna say this?

R120 actually it’s very normal to not acknowledge it as none of them were psychiatrists evaluating him but just on a trip with him.

I don’t analyze every asshole I come in contact with. I try ignoring them.

R122 his cousin would know if he had a diagnosis though, wouldn’t he? Particularly after the events leading up to the movie.

It would have been out of character for the prim Eisenberg character to confide in a bunch of strangers about the specifics of his cousin's emotional issues.

R118 here:

That was my only post, Kieran. Calm the F down.

I couldn't finish it. FUCKING Hulu is insane with all of the goddamn buffing.

I think I made it through the first 1/2 hour. I was ready to kill the Culkin character and it just wasn't worth it to me to keep watching.

I was ready to fucking murder Culkin's character. I know people like him and they're horrible.

R127 r128 are literally the same person but expect us to believe it’s different people.

At least attempt to be good at your trolling.

^^^Are you high this early in the day? Or don't you know how to check posters' histories?

Either way, you're not too bright.

I came away thinking Culkin's character was homeless and living in the airport

I very much enjoyed the movie. That said, if I'd never seen Culkin as Roman Roy I would have thought, "Who IS this guy? He's fantastic!" But I have seen him as Roman Roy, and it was (largely) more of the same. Eisenberg and Culkin were on The Graham Norton Show, and non-acting Culkin was... more of the same, minus the swearing. Eisenberg said on the show that he cast Culkin for his "essence" and (supposedly...) had never seen him in anything before (and also Eisenberg was originally going to play Culkin's part).

Benji and Roman are not the same at all outside of having Culkin’s fast talking and mannerisms. Very different characters. Most actors put some of themselves into the characters.

They are both inappropriate and charming in addition to being fast talkers.

Because Culkin is those things. But the characters weren’t the same. At all.

I'm glad the discussion on this film continued; even though it wasn't the strongest film, I thought the ideas were thought-provoking. My family isn't jewish, much less survived the holocaust, but I still think some times how my hardworking, blue color grandparents (who were genuinely poor at certain points of their lives) would view my comfortable but stressful (in a different way) existence.

Were they smurfs?

It was OK. I'd give it a B. Kieran Culkins was brilliant. Jesse was jesse.

I thought it was okay, nothing more. I can certainly see why it didn’t get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Sincere little movie with a lot of little moments. Culkin lively but obnoxious, and it’s very like his work on “Succession,” so nothing sirprising about heat he does here.

“Culkin's work as Benji was one of the most impactful film performances I've seen in a while, and that includes all the awards favorites that I've been catching up on. He pivots between being wildly charming and chewing on the scenery to breaking the hearts of other characters and the audience alike. He's able to weave in the history with Benji's late grandmother, his suicide attempt and the atrocities of the Holocaust, as well as his stained relationship to Eisenberg's character into one powerhouse performance.“

Bullshit. It’s a very mannered performance and we saw the whole bag of tricks in “Succession.” Roman Roy wasn’t just a funny, fast-talking disruptor, he was a lost boy, craving his father’s love and attention, yet unable to stop irritating his strict father, living out their childhood pattern of bad behavior bringing on the attention of punishment. It was a tightrope walk and a complex portrait of a smart but self-hating boy-man.

And this is not different at all from what he does in “A Real Pain,” except he is irritating to the point of annoyance in it. I never found him charming in this movie, just worthy of a Logan Roy style spanking. The Supporting Actor Oscar should be between Edward Norton, Guy Pierce and Jeremy Strong, whose performance as Roy Cohn couldn’t be farther from Kendall Roy.

Kieran Culkin has his own kind of charisma, no questipn, but as an actor he’s a one trick pony.

R141 only Roman was nothing like Benji.

They were a lot a like. The main difference was one was a rich nazi sympathizer and the other was poor and Jewish.

Lovely and charming at times, but ultimately underwhelming. I've seen almost all the Oscar nominees (including for the International Film award) except for the Documentary features, and I even got to see Culkin and Eisenberg introduce this one, and I've rarely thought about it since. It is 100% tied to the Holocaust and to deny that is absurd. ABSURD. Perhaps not a "Holocaust film" like Schindler's List, The Pianist, Son of Saul or Europa, Europa, but without question the historical Jewish experience in Poland and its lasting effects on subsequent generations is what the entire film is about.

It's a very good film, but not great, and I'm glad it didn't get nominated for Best Picture. Culkin is going to win the Oscar in an egregious case of category fraud, but it's a compelling performance, so no tears need be shed. I'd have voted for Clarence Maclin, but since he did not get nominated, I'd love to see Jeremy Strong or Edward Norton take the prize. Can't see that happening though.

Off topic but irritating to me because someone did not do their research. At some point one of the group says their ancestors landed "in of all places, Galveston, TX." Anyone who knows about history knows Galveston was a huge port of entry for immigrants. Even today there's a large population of Jewish, Italian and Greek descendants.

Anyway. Phenomenal film

R139 reflects my point of view as well.

R142, That was exactly my point — two very different characters but only one performance. Culkin used all the same mannerisms for both.

I thought Culkin was very good but I’d give the Oscar to Edward Norton, His Pete Seeger was perfection.

R140 I mean...REALLY?! I feel like there's a lot of overstatement about his performance. Don't get me wrong. I enjoyed Culklin and really wanted to hug him at the end (amongst other things!!), but it wasn't much of a stretch. Hell, I think Eisenberg's performance is wayyy more effective, especially the last rooftop scene. I got lumped up.

Well, fortunately I have never seen Succession, so I am sure I will enjoy this very much.

R150 Agree that Eisenberg gave a very effecting performance and really conveyed the heartbreak of having a mentally ill family member.

Arrrgh! I meant to write “affecting.”

I figure you did, r153. I'm glad you were able to beat one of those "Oh, dear" assholes to the punch.

Culkin was phenomenal. Stop comparing it to Succession. The characters were nothing alike. Culkin puts himself in his characters. A lot of actors do. If Denzel, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Ryan Reynolds, hell even Jesse Eisenberg can get away with always playing characters with their own mannerisms etc. then Culkin shouldn’t be criticized for it.

Are they a homosexual couple?

[quote]Are they a homosexual couple?

The're cousins, Vinny

R155 Bullshit. Culkin is playing a more accessible version of Roman no matter how much you WEIRDLY cry about in this thread. He's typecast and that's okay. Whenever they need an actor to play a smug millennial, he'll get the call.

He’s no Timothee Chamaladingdong.

R158 no. He’s playing Benji. Not Roman.

I'm not sure I can watch another Jesse Eisenberg film. Ike Eisenberg, maybe, but not Jesse.

Is this movie about adult circumcision?

That would be more entertaining than this movie.

I loved it.

Culkin being put in the Supporting category for everything, including the Oscars, is the most blatant example of category fraud since Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl.

Culkin’s character Benji is in the first shot of the film- it’s just him in the shot. He’s then in the final shot in the film-it’s just him in the shot. In fact it’s a fucking close-up. The title and its double meaning is actually about Benji and nobody else. Culkin has more or less the exact same amount of screen time as Eisenberg. He’s the co-lead. Will Sharpe and the two actors who play members of the tour group are the supporting actors in this damn film, not Culkin. Putting him in this category has robbed the actors who were in genuinely supporting roles the chance to be nominated or, in the cases of Yura Borisov and Edward Norton, the chance to win.

Beahahaha r164 get over it.

The film was shot around Lublin, not Krakow. Maidanek, where Jesse's grandmother was imprisoned, is the concentration camp they visited in the film. Auschwitz-Birkenau is near Krakow.

It's dismaying these days how often these Supporting Oscars are so pre-determined by all the awards before the Oscars.

I got tired of looking at Eisenberg's ugly feet. 🤮

Some of you people need to seriously let go of the category fraud freakouts. The Academy doesn’t give a shit and you’re wailing to the sky for nothing.

They nominated Isabella Rossellini for a seven minute role this year so they still very much do classic supporting nominations.

I really wanted to like this, but the Culkin character was so annoying it was a struggle to get through. What a fucking loser.

It only has a 7.5 rating on IMDB

R170 I was totally on the same page at first, but he managed to win me over. His looks and charm were hard to resist. He triggered that “I can save him” self-delusion we sometimes get when we want to fuck someone who’s clearly a hot mess. Plus, his sad story definitely played into it.

Culkin's eyes are weird; they look like the guy from that Garfield cartoon.

If he wins it will be for body of work. He was amazing in Igby Goes Down at age 20, surrounded by accomplished actors. Look how young they all look.

do we think Macaulay is jealous?

If anyone is seething with jealousy in the Culkin clan, I ewould imagine it's their father, who pushed them into show business, only to see them cut all ties with him.

If he was on my tour I'd be pissed!

He will win for an amazing performance. Body of work? His body of work isn’t that large.

Neither is his range, R178.

The trailer is sufficient warning. Good song though. Anyone know what it is?

For r180: "The Way We Get By" by Spoon and "You Ain't Alone" by Alabama Shakes

R179 like Ryan Reynolds, The Rock, Jesse Eisenberg, Kevin Hart, Emma Roberts and many others, they are very very good at one thing and build a career off that thing. It’s nothing new. A lot of the big actors don’t have much range. They’re just really good at a specific thing.

Obviously, R182.

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.

[quote] If he wins it will be for body of work.

My God, how old is he?

Now it only has a 7.1 rating on IMDB

Body of work?

He's been acting since he was eight, so about 35 years

And...body of work?

Elizabeth Taylor acted since she was 9, but no one thought her Oscars were for her body of work.

For Virginia Woolf, everyone certainly did, R190.

R191 No they did not.

R191 And besides she was only 32.

And for Butterfield 8, it wasn't her whole body, but just her throat

An Oscar for one's body of work would be like the one I didn't get for that Streisand film.

Yes, they did, R192.

R192, not only did Taylor win an Oscar for Virginia Woolf. She also won the BAFTA as well as the NY Film Critics Award, among many other awards. So, bullshit.

R197 Are you agreeing or disagreeing with me?

R198, I'm saying she won those awards because of her performance in that movie. Is that clear enough?

Keiran Culkin isn't even a big or beloved star or a household name. Why would he get an Oscar for his body of work (that most people couldn't even name) at age 42?

WHAT body of work? What's the list of stellar performances her gave in great films?

R199 It was clear enough to begin with, but I was saying the same thing as you. I think you meant to reply "bullshit" to the other poster, perhaps?

*he gave

The "bullshit" remark was leveled at R190, implying Taylor didn't deserve her second Oscar.

I thought Kieran Culkin had a great performance in Wiener-Dog.

R204 No, my reply at R190 said that "no one thought her Oscars were for her body of work." Meaning they were won on merit, or other wise were just for individual performances, not body of work. I don't know if you need math help or what.

Great, R206. Thanks for clarifying. We're agreed. Okay?

R207 Finally!

That said, R208, she didn't win her first Oscar for her performance but for her life-threatening illness. She herself hated her performance and that movie.

R209 True, but my point (as you know) was that it was not a "body of work" Oscar despite her having been in the business a long time like Culkin. I'm not really surprised she won it because other than the tracheotomy she had never played a whore before, or anything even close, and those roles sometimes win Oscars.

I think he's been in 25 movies, 20 TV shows, 10 theater productions including Glengarry Glen Ross right now, he's survived a crazy father and being a child actor. I think he has to be admired by his peers.

OP is deluded that there a number of worthwhile movies released this year.

The Academy loves rewarding child actors who don’t flame out and transition into having respectable adult careers. Jodie Foster, Elizabeth Taylor, Ke Huy Quan, etc. Kieran Culkin fits that mold.

Kieran also showed early lead film bonafides twenty years ago in Igby Goes Down (for which he received a Golden Globe nomination).

R211 Let's give him an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award!

^Yeah, and let's be cunts about it!!!

Isn't he due for the Arts medal from the WH and the Kennedy Centers honor as well?

*Center

Actors who get rewarded for their body of work don’t really get rewarded for their body of work. Those type of actors get rewarded as a thank you from the industry for making them a lot of money. Julia Roberts, Sandra, Bullock, Will Smith, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, none of them won their Oscar for those particular performances. They won as a thank you for being huge stars who made Hollywood a lot of money. Kieran is not that.

So yes, Liz Taylor very much COULD be one of those actors rewarded for being a MOVIE STAR and the industry wants to say thanks for making us $$$. But she won her second Oscar fairly.

What a dump...!

[quote] Those type of actors

Oh, dear.

I need to watch it again

Even London Film Critics couldn't resist Culkin. He's winning because of Succession afterglow.

Fiennes was the nice surprise winner in lead actor. Go Ralph!

He’s winning because he was amazing.

Objectively, there is nothing amazing or awards worthy about what Culkin did in A Real Pain.

R225 to YOU. Many of us think he’s incredible. Sign off the internet. You also don’t know a Korean can’t be German ethnically.

R225 has been ALL OVER this thread repeating herself.

Get a blog, dear.

I liked it to a point. Eisenberg was fine, Will Sharpe is cute, Jennifer Grey was very good, but Culkin’s character was annoying and obnoxious. So of course he is the “truth speaker”. I’m glad the couple from Texas were not taken by his bullshit.

I liked it more than I thought I would but Culkin's character didn't quite work for me either. After a few minutes of his mania and a visibly embarrassed Eisenberg you wonder why the latter chose to inflict him on a captive tour group in the first place. Later when Eisenberg tells Culkin how he envied his ability to instantly charm a room I'm thinking 'charming' isn't the word I would choose. Maybe 'entertaining on a good day' is more like it. But I thought it was an intelligent script, even a charming one, and deserved to be nominated.

But, by the time Eisenberg tells Culkin "how he envied his ability to instantly charm a room" hasn't Culkin, in fact charmed them all?

He may not have charmed you, 229, of course.

^Well, I could see where the Culkin character was a very magnetic character (though admittedly not everyone's cup of tea); he sensed the Jennifer Grey character was having a hard time whereas the Eisenberg character just assumed she wanted to be on her on. As obnoxious as he was to the Sharpe character, the character took his words to heart even if Benji couldn't remember what he said. So I get what he was saying about being a person that people gravitate towards, versus someone that just blends into the woodwork.

And there is nothing, NOTHING, remotely jewish about Kieran Culken.

What on Earth does that mean, R232?

It means, r233, that Jesse might have considered a similarly aged Jewish actor. It would have been a fuckload better if he'd chosen Andrew Garfield, say, or Julian Morris.

So only Jewish actors are allowed to play Jewish characters now, R234?

Do you feel the same way about straight and gay characters? Is a Jewish actor not allowed to play someone who’s Christian?

Why exactly? You didn’t provide a reason for that.

Isn’t that part of why Culkin was cast? He’s literally nothing like the rest of them. He doesn’t follow any rules and rebels.

First of all, r235, I am not r232. I simply took his idea and expanded on it. Truth is, though, I would rather have seen lots of actors playing Benji. So why not Andrew Garfield or Julian Morris? They would have been so much better than that toad, Culkin.

I can see what the poster meant. Where the Jewishness of the character is a big part of the story, no, you don't need to have a Jewish actor but the character has to be believably what he/she is playing. Like Rosalind Russell playing the Gertrude Berg stage role in the film of A Majority of One. A middle-aged Jewish woman from The Bronx, I think. She actually did a decent job, but I can see people saying. "she's not even Jewish."

R234 is Sarah Silverman. I remember when Sarah had a meltdown when I was cast to play Joan Rivers for a minseries and said it was Jewface.

R238 pretty sure the point of the character is to show how far removed he is from it all.

R230 It's not clear the group found him so charming, more like a funny but troubled character with unpredictable mood swings. What's charming about being chastised because you're in a first class train compartment? That's probably why Eisenberg shoehorned in the bit where the tour guide thanks Benji for what was basically an attack on him. Benji could have made the same points off to the side instead of shouting and jumping around in front of everyone, in a cemetery of all places. That scene was seriously unpleasant. There's one of these loudmouths in every group.

I don't care if he's Jewish or not, but he in no way SEEMED Jewish.

Oy vey

R242, please define what “seeming Jewish” means.

I'm Jewish and I found the casting totally credible.

The older guy seemed like he wanted to punch Benji out.

Benji lost any charm he may have had with the obnoxious belching scene.

Jonah on Superstore doesn't seem very Jewish, either.

I thought Benji was a dog.

R244 I'm not the poster but I once saw Come Blow Your Horm with Doug McClure playing the son of Lou Jacobi and that didn't work.

I would wholeheartedly agree that Doug McClure could never seem Jewish but I think KC pulls it off.

Lifelong New Yorker here. I'm been friends with and worked with Jewish people my whole life. Some "look" Jewish or "act" Jewish, and others don't. It's a combination of many factors; upbringing, cultural exposure, your group of friends, etc. Subsequent generations are more and more removed from the more obvious ancestral stereotypes. The David character does come across as more Jewish than his cousin Benji.

Jewish humor has often played off of stereotypes. The sit-com Seinfeld personalizes many such stereotypes. There's Elaine (playing a JAP -Jewish American Princess), George (maybe a bit of a nebbish), Seinfeld (funny, neurotic), various parents of the characters (guilt-inducing, penny-pinching), etc.

Woody Allen also usually plays a nebbish in his own films.

These are all portraying New York, New Jersey, or Long Island Jews. Of course, there are many many Jews living elsewhere in the US, with few or none of these stereotypical accents, looks, or behaviors. (And many New York Jews don't fall into these stereotypes either. )

Many people here would be shocked to learn that Marianne Williamson was raised in a Jewish family. Kyra Sedgewick and Timothee Chalamet both had Jewish mother, so technically they are Jewish as are James Franco and Dave Franco as well as Scarlett Johansson. Eric Balfour, Eric Dane, William Shatner, and on and on and on.

However, in the film, it's implied that the cousins are New York area Jewish guys, which Eisenberg communicates a sense of more successfully than Culkin.

Jesse's face with Will Sharpe goes overboard thanking Culkin for the thoughtful abuse and then gives Jesse the dismissive "you didn't register much" goodbye was key to me. He thinks he's the better person and yet gets no credit for it while this mess of a cousin ends up "charming" everyone else. It was a great moment.

I never realized Elaine Marie Benes was Jewish.

R254 I thought she was Mexican.

R255 I recall an episode where she said her family tree was Spanish

Elaine wasn’t supposed to be Jewish. She even says she isn’t when she meets with the rabbi.

Julia Louis Dreyfus, however…

^^ No, IIRC, the guy she thought was black thought she was Spanish and when they realized they were both white, they decided to go to The Gap.

Culkin plays the same character. He's Roman Roy if he didn't grow up rich. Shitty, pointless movie.

^Very insightful, no one has mentioned that yet.

I am trying to watch this on tv this evening but I keep stopping it because Kieran Culkin's character is sooooo irritating it's uncomfortable. It seems unrealistic but I suppose there are people like this. I will try to get through it but I've already had to stop to breathe 2x. It's suffocating. I know, Mary!

Wow, stopped it 2x and it's only 89 minutes long.

Yeah I know, Mary. The filmmaking and performances are good. I just can't stand being with the character. As an aside, Jesse is 41 and keeping it TIGHT. His body looks excellent in this. As evidenced in the completely unseen 2023 flop "Manodrome". With Adrien Brody.

I liked Benji. He’s clearly troubled and lost and has mental issues. Yes he is obnoxious and rude but also can be fun, funny and charming when he wants. Depends what mood you catch him in.

His raw bluntness ended up resonating with the group after they got used to him. Marcia took a liking to him immediately but the rest warmed up to him with time, all but the older man who couldn’t stand him. And that rings true. I’ve been around rude people who I ultimately have taken a liking too overall.

Did KC win the Critic's Choice Award last night?

R266 yes.

He’s rehearsing for his new role on Broadway

I think Kieran is great in A Real Pain and would be a deserving winner. But I would love a shocker Oscar win for Yura Borisov who I felt stole Anora. Such a surprising, wonderful (and truly supporting) performance.

I haven't seen the film. But he gets star billing on the Blu ray cover I saw yesterday. He's really supporting?

(I wanted to see the film since I found the Blu ray in the library, but it ended up being defective. The Blu ray, not the library.)

R270 that’s a stupid question. There have been many times where an actor place a supporting character and they get star billing because they are the selling point of the film.

R272 Fuck you, Mr. Know-it-all. It's not a stupid question. Two guys have star billing, his phot is featured even larger on the cover than his costar, and all the previews show him in a way that suggests he's a lead. Does he only appear in part of the film? I'm not asking you, because I don't care about you.

Some films have people nominated as supporting who are basically second leads. So I'm curious.

Can he be classified as second lead? Yes. But the film is through the point of views of Jesse Eisenberg. Benji can be classified as supporting because you’re looking at Benji through david’s eyes

A famous case is Hud (1963), where Patricia Neal had second billing to Paul Newman and won Best Actress, but in a supporting role (she was the only actress in a major role in the film). While Melvyn Douglas, in a much larger role that was technically one of the leads, won Best Supporting Actor.

1963 was a particularly lame year for lead actresses and the Academy was grateful to have Patricia Neal in a great performance.

Jesse gave a great interview for BBC Radio 3 last Saturday, where he discussed his usage of Chopin's music in the film with the program's host Matthew Sweet. He also let slip that he's planning on moving to Poland.

If you have BBC Sounds I highly recommend it.

I finally saw it. I waited for it to come out on Blu ray and got it out of the library. I wouldn't say Culkin is a supporting actor. That's like saying one of the leads in The Odd Couple is a supporting actor.

As for my reaction to the movie: I did think Culkin's character was somewhat annoying, but he was supposed to be. Charming? A little, but not to the extent people in the movie were claiming. Eisenberg's character was also annoying (so was his performance, in a way. He's not subtle). I thought the *actual* supporting actors were all pretty good, especially Jennifer Gray (underused, though), the guy who played the Black Jewish man, and the tour guide. I enjoyed it, but not as much as, say, The Holdovers, last year. It was less than hilarious, less than deeply moving, and also, a bit contrived, at times. But I would recommend it.

You actually can say that he is supporting. Why? Because you only see Benji when David is with him. You never see Benji on his own. Minus the very final shot. Other than the final shot of the movie, you never see Benji unless he’s with David, but you will see David by himself. David is the center character. He is the main character. Because of this, you can say that Benji is a supporting character.

By the way -- I was disturned by the concentration camp visit. I knew someone older who had been in one. It wasn't a graphic scene and I've seen much more real depictions and documentaries.

R279 Whose definition of supporting actor is that?

[quote] Other than the final shot of the movie, you never see Benji unless he’s with David, but you will see David by himself.

So? He's in the entire movie.

Alvy Singer waas the lead character in Annie Hall, but Diane Keaton (who was in almost no scenes he wasn't in) was nominated for and won Best Actress.

R280 no. David is the central character. Benji is not.

[quote]By the way -- I was disturned by the concentration camp visit. I knew someone older who had been in one. It wasn't a graphic scene and I've seen much more real depictions and documentaries.

You were expecting what, a trip through the showers?

R282 Are you an insensitive, or what? What you "expect"...? You don't know what is going to be presented and how it will be presented. Sometimes something very simple or even unrelated can bring back memories of someone. That was my experience, don't invalidate it. You do you.

R281 The award is not for "central character." It's for Actor (one of the leads) vs Supporting Actor (one of the smaller parts that support the leads).

R284 no. Supporting doesn’t mean “small role”. That isn’t what supporting means.

In my opinion it's way too large a STARRING role for actors in NON-STARRING (i. e. supporting) roles to have to compete with. There are actually no official rules for what constitutes a supporting role, in the Academy Awards, so it's pointless to argue about it.

...But in general, the supporting category (created in the mid-1930s) was created to give character actors and others who did not play leads starring roles) in films a chance to be recognized for their acting.

[quote]By the way -- I was disturned by the concentration camp visit. I knew someone older who had been in one. It wasn't a graphic scene and I've seen much more real depictions and documentaries.

It's a mellow film. I thought the shot of the tour group slowly walking by and looking into the gas chamber was eerie and appropriate for the tone of the film.

"Jesse Adam Eisenberg was born in Astoria, Queens (NYC) and grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey. His mother, Amy (née Fishman), who now teaches cross cultural sensitivity in hospitals, previously worked as a clown named Bonabini at children's parties and as a director/choreographer for a high school for 20 years. His father, Barry Eisenberg, drove a taxicab, then worked at a hospital, and later became a college professor, teaching sociology."

I don't know if I've ever seen a regular comedy-drama like this one with so many F bombs in it.

[quote]By the way -- I was disturbed by the concentration camp visit. I knew someone older who had been in one. It wasn't a graphic scene and I've seen much more real depictions and documentaries.

What was it then, r283, that disturbed you?

R291 The person I knew took a trip back to the camp they were in, similar to this trip (though not a guided tour). Re-experiencing it didn't go well for them. They never got over revisiting it and it may have been better had they not done it.

Many yonger people today are at a sort of remove from these things, and see them as more historical, rather than personal.

*younger

[QUOTE] By the way -- I was disturned by the concentration camp visit. I knew someone older who had been in one. It wasn't a graphic scene and I've seen much more real depictions and documentaries.

No one can tell what this stupid comment is even saying.

R295 I wrote more, but deleted the rest by mistake. I'd tell you where it was going but you're an abusive asshole.

[QUOTE] I wrote more, but deleted the rest by mistake.

Sure, Jan.

See....I think Benji is the main character. ALL of the reactions and interactions are built around Benji and his behavior. So why couldn't Culkin be considered in the Best Actor Category?

BTW, I'm not wasting a second of my life arguing about this, so don't bother. It's just an observation.

^thanks

Timmy speech landed with a thud. He seems arrogant and does he think he’s Dylan? These are common comments and questions. Good luck to all the talent who made some great films.

I just watched his SAG acceptance speech via YouTube.

Based on that “wow this is heavy!” and jacking off with Adrian Brody I have no desire to see him in this (or any other) movie. Kieran Culkin acted completely disrespectfully to SAG and the others in his category by being a flippant little schmuck.

It wasn't so bad.

But he's sort of effeminate, isn't he?

I don't know if the speech was cripted or not (he says not)...he sure got a lot of laughs if he was improvising.

scripted.....

R302 Nah, I think he reads nerdy and awkward more than effeminate. Probably loves Shakespeare, reads poetry and shit.

Somehow I doubt he loves Shakespeare. He doesn't sound or act very masculine, is another way to put it. If I knew nothing about him I'd wonder if he was gay or straight. But today we celebrate guys who act girly and 'sensitive' anyway.

[quote]I don't know if I've ever seen a regular comedy-drama like this one with so many F bombs in it.

Indeed, but it speaks (literally) to the film's authenticity that this didn't jar. It perfectly fitted the super-fast conversational rhythms of two people who know each other too well, if not absolutely.

Late to the party, but I only just saw this on the big screen and really loved it. Laughter, tears, much admiration. 'The Guardian' called it 'a masterpiece', slight over-praise which is nonetheless deserved. Very keen to watch again to repeat the pleasure, plus knowing what I now know.

I honestly thought ti was just "very good." No more than that. Plus, free spirit ADHD guy meets uptight OCD guy is just not that original a concept to me.

(it)

[quote] have been watching more, streaming or downloaded from my partner's illicit website

If you're comfortable sharing, can you let us know which one, please ?

I saw the movie this afternoon. I thought it was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. The last minute or so of Culkin sitting in the airport is the reason why he won the Oscar - a masterful performance (before that, I thought he was playing Roman Roy all over again). Eisenberg should have gotten an acting nod as well as many others. I can't believe how I cried at the end.

BTW, Jennifer Grey delivered a small, but powerful performance. I had to watch the credits to see who played 'Marcia' - I thought it was Melissa Rivers throughout the whole movie. Pleasant surprise to see her back on screen again.

I also liked Jennifer Grey's performance in the movie. She's one of those actress who I wish would have had much bigger career.