Fletch's Film Review: Henry Poole Is Here

By the time you read this, Mrs. Fletch and I will have long since forgotten what it was about. We saw the film in early April after we obtained tickets to a focus group screening. If you haven't attended one, it's basically the same as any other old screening, except that you are asked to fill out a questionnaire at the end ("Please, be brutally honest") and a few folks get to stick around to be part of the intense focus groups as part of a Q & A session.

We weren't part of that lucky group (unlucky?), but I've been there before. Years ago, I got to be a part of that group for The Fifth Element (I told them that it was too slapsticky, amongst other things; they obviously didn't listen), and not too long ago, Mrs. Fletch and I were a part of one for Spanglish (ugh). For Henry Poole though, we just watched, wrote and left, and as it stated on the ticket prior to entry, anyone "involved with" movie news and/or reviews was not welcome. Since Movie Reviewing and I are casually dating, I had to lie and say that I wasn't, and to keep up my part of the bargain, I've held this post as a draft for the past four months.

Well, the film has now been released to the general public, so I've kept my end of the deal. In fitting with the theme of the screening, in which I had to fill out a questionnaire afterwards that was essentially a review at the USA Today reading level, I figure I might as well try to re-create it here (pardon me if my memory fails me).

1. Based on the scale below, how would you rate Henry Poole Is Here?
□ Excellent
□ Very Good
□ Good
■ Fair
□ Bad

2. Would you recommend this film to a friend?
□ Definitely!
□ Yeah, probably
■ Probably not
□ No way!

3. Which of the following films have you seen in the theater?
□ The Family Stone
■ Waitress
■ Lars and the Real Girl
■ Death at a Funeral
■ Definitely, Maybe
(you get the picture)

4. How many films have you seen in the theater in the last two months?
10

(memory fading...)

5. Name three things you liked about the movie:
* The beginning
* The scene with Luke Wilson and Cheryl Hines
* George Lopez

6. Name three things you didn't like about the movie:
* The way the ending tied everything up into a neat little bow
* The song that played during the final scenes
* How obvious some of the "twists" were, even for this reviewer that is terrible at such things.

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Unfortunately, what you see above is all that I wrote about Henry Poole just days after seeing it. Now, here it is four months later, and I can't recall much else to say. Time is a cruel bitch to this reviewer's memory, especially when it comes to movies that I'm mostly ambivalent about. Let's just say that looking back on what I said above, my overall rating might be a tad harsh - it probably should fall somewhere between "Fair" and "Good." I guess I placed it in the "Fair" category thinking that putting "Good" would contradict the answer to the second question.

If you like indie dramadies with messages of hope (and Luke Wilson), check it out. If none of that sounds appealing, then be a jerk and go give George Lucas your money.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill you."