Downhill movie review

MOVIE TITLE: DOWNHILL

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: C+

IN A NUTSHELL:

Inspired by the 2014 Swedish movie Force Majeure by Ruben Ostlund, this depressing comedy is directed by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Jesse Armstrong helped them write the English version of the aftermath of a family who experienced a brush with an avalanche while on a ski vacation. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month and is being released by Searchlight, with the previous name of Fox missing from the title since the Disney purchase.

I love movie titles with double meanings, but in this case, it’s not a good thing. While the movie features a family on a downhill ski trip in the Alps, the title of the film best describes the direction the marriage is going in throughout their adventure. Timed perfectly for a Valentine’s Day release, it really isn’t the fun rom-com you’re thinking it should be with comedy giants Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In fact, it’s a bit of a DOWNer for the most romantic day of the year.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Crude language, profanity, F-bombs
Talk of being nude in a spa
Talk of intimate relationships.
A woman tries to pleasure herself.
Alcohol, bad drunken behavior

THEMES:

“Every day is all we have.” – Pete (Will Ferrell)
Relationships, marriage, perceptions of other people’s relationships
Expectations
Survival
Family
Live for self or live for others
Aging
Identity

THINGS I LIKED:

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was outstanding in her role. She is a talented comedienne who is very believable in a drama too. The nuances on her face were perfect and spoke volumes.
My husband and I saw the movie together and both felt sorry for Will Ferrell’s character, who is a complete wuss during the story. My husband was especially frustrated that the character was never able to quite redeem himself.
Miranda Otto, who plays Charlotte, will look familiar to you but you won’t quite know where you’ve seen her before. Suddenly, you’ll remember it was in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers franchise where she played Eowyn. Her character in this movie doesn’t have an ounce of integrity like Eowyn did in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Fans of The Office: The Complete Series will get a kick out of seeing Zach Woods. What’s funny is his character’s name is Zach in this movie.
When Kirstofer Hivju first appeared on the screen in the movie, you could immediately tell there were Game of Thrones:Season 1-2 fans in the audience. There were some laughs and even a few quiet cheers, as his character, Giantsbane, was always a fan favorite.
When the movie ended, the lady sitting behind me in the theater said, “That’s it?” but I actually thought it was an insightful ending.
You get to see some beautiful Austrian mountains.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

I haven’t seen the original movie that this is modeled after, but everyone who has, says the first one is sooo much better.
Sooooo much bickering. That’s neither enjoyable, nor funny.
It definitely needed more humor to balance out the drama and depressing moments.
The actors who played the sons did a good job, but they sure aren’t like most realistic, rambunctious boys that age that I know. Instead, these boys are super mellow. They’re played by Julian Grey and Ammon Jacob Ford.
Lots of awkward moments.

FUNNY LINES:

#Getbetterhashtags

“We’re in a stock image right now!” – Zach (Zach Woods)

INTERESTING LINES:

“You can’t forget about you.” – Pete (Will Ferrell)
“If you don’t like the way I look at you, then show me something different.” – Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)