Sleeping Dogs Lie

Aaron Shurtleff: “It was ok.”

Ugh! This was written and directed by Bob Goldthwaite (apparently he's not Bobcat anymore), and it shows. I won't reveal the big secret, but you're told what it is 2 minutes in, so I'm really not hiding anything from you. I was tempted to rate this 'It sucked', because it really wasn't very good, but, honestly, the main actress really does do a great job in the movie. (Plus, she's cute, and I don't normally find blondes cute, so take that for what it's worth.) I honestly feel sympathy for her character, which doesn't happen often, especially in a movie which is so full of distractions and crud. The actress (Melinda Page Hamilton) hasn't really done much else, but I hope to see her again in more movies, preferably not with Bobcat Goldthwaite writing/directing.

Anyhow, the girl gets engaged to her "dream man", and agonizes over whether to tell him the big secret she's been holding since she was a young, naive college girl. Unsurprisingly (and this movie would blow if they didn't), she tells him, and he is not amused. At all. Then, her family finds out, and they pretty much disown her. Eventually, things work out, she dumps the fiancee, meets someone new, etc. etc. etc. I won't spoil the rest of the movie, but the message at the end seemed to be (to me) "It's OK to lie and hold secrets back from people. In fact, life works better that way!" I do not agree with that, and so, that's probably a big part of my dislike for this film.

This movie is billed as a romantic comedy. It's not funny. Maybe it's one of those dark comedies, where they aren't funny in a serious way that make people say they are comedies, but don't expect the funny, because you won't get it. The situation is ludicrous, but that's about it. It's really kind of more heart wrenching to see how everyone privy to the secret changes how they feel about the main character.

If you're looking for a weird and different movie, this could be your cup of tea. If nothing else, you'll see what I think passes for great acting, so you can judge your opinion of my opinion based on this, because I can't say enough about what a great job Melinda Page Hamilton does in this movie. I might start a fan club!

[EDIT] Apparently, this movie has also been called Stay, so if you see that, it might be the same movie. The version I watched was called Sleeping Dogs Lie.

− May 9, 2008 • more by Aaron • log in or create an account to reply