Crazy Eyes (2012)

You won't be disappointed!

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Wonderfully acted, great dialog, great cinematography, great soundtrack. This movie was a most pleasant surprise. Give it 15 min and if it hasn't pulled you in then the movie just isn't for you. I honestly can't believe why anyone would give this movie less than a 7 but who knows. The movie is honest, the dialog is not laughable as one reviewer mentioned. "I tried to drown the monsters in my head but they learned to swim," the main character says about his struggles with alcoholism. Jake Busey is great in this film. I have seen him in various movies over the years and he is perfect for this movie. One of the best movies to come out of 2012 regardless of financial success.

It's 3am. I'm writing a review because this movie doesn't deserve all the hate people are giving it. It's a Los Angeles movie. And it accurately renders one of the ways that Los Angeles can make a person feel. Movies like Spread (w/Ashton Kutcher) and In Search of A Midnight Kiss have also explored the absolute pessimism that effects a certain strata of the city. But this film takes more risks with its characters than the other two and these risks reward the viewer with a more substantial portrayal of life and love after all the dreams are gone. These characters don't exist to uplift you, they exist to make you feel compassion.And they do, mainly because of the performances. Haas and Zima allow themselves to be vulnerable and ugly in ways that movie stars never will. Haas creates a character with a thousand faces and no self. He's a father, a son, a seducer, a cuckold, a self-pitying douche-bag-trust-funder, and a seemingly self-made man at different points in the movie. He's a series of moods stitched together by booze, regret and his desire for Zima. Madeline Zima is also wonderful. And in spite of running around in sexy outfits and lingerie through out the film she is never objectified by the camera or the director. She is particularly excellent in the swimming pool scenes where she reveals her character's heart and authenticity. The director deserves some credit for these performances and for the respect he gives his actors and the characters. Only directorial miss was one messy scene in a bar with a bunch of out of focus camera moves that could have been cut. All the other problems in this movie come from the script. The subplot with his father never resonates and it undermines the main character's climatic romantic decision. And the bar fights seem like the writer threw them in to keep the film from being too talky. The fights look okay, but they don't serve the story or change the characters. In spite of these few flaws, I wanted to know more about these characters when the movie ended. It's definitely worth watching for the performances and overall emotional honesty.

Like the other reviewer, I wanted to like this film. It began with very real-seeming characters in Los Angeles dealing with the dysfunctional male-female dynamics there that can cause relationship difficulties, and I thought, maybe this is going to be like Swingers.The problem is that the characters are SO vile, unappealing, and the entire film is so full of hatred and awful dialogue, that I couldn't care less what happened to any of these people. All the female characters were basically drugged-out whores (except for the mother whose main dialogue line involves some insane comment about not going to restaurants because of black mold...?) But all the other women are portrayed as unintelligent, money-grubbing, shallow and promiscuous and have absolutely no redeeming qualities. And the main male protagonist is so incredibly unappealing that I cannot understand what the viewer is supposed to be hoping will happen - he continuously treats every woman awfully and then acts frustrated that his women are not noble and are all basically treating him in a shallow way. It boggles the mind. And he is a (bad) father to a small child as well. I really have not much else to say except to avoid this movie at all costs if you value your time. None of the characters learns anything, grows in any way, or is remotely interesting.

Call me crazy (you won't be the first) but I feel that the independent movie "Crazy Eyes" was able to achieve its vision of a man and a woman consumed by troubles who resort to each other and a few bottles of the finest spirits to uplift their spirits. "Crazy Eyes" stars Lukas Haas as Zach, a pre-middle aged California man, wealthy by probably inheritance nature, who has a crazy crush on a younger recluse of a gal called Rebecca who bottles up her escapism with a few bottles of Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, Jose Cuervo, and the rest of the usual liquorish characters we have all come to ingest from time to time. Rebecca does not reciprocate the same affection that Zach has for her, but nevertheless keeps him around; maybe for his money, or maybe because they share the same taste in beverages. Zach is divorced from a gold- digger beauty who wants the green from the Zach machine to keep her in the upstate Cali beachside world. They share a young son who Zach does visit and loves, but then again Zach should not be applying for any "Father of the Year" Award. Zach is primarily consumed with his lust for Rebecca and his passion for drinks, drinks, and yet more drinks. Zach's best buddy is a Cali bartender (no shocker here) named Dan Drake, also quite a lush himself who consumes his own inventory among a plethora of hardcore drugs. "Crazy Eyes" is not a balanced film whatsoever, and Director Adam Sherman does helm it with an unorthodox style which is not pretty in nature, but somehow it does have an effect; which is pretty much a microcosm of most of our drunken nights. Sherman scripted "Crazy Eyes" with Dan Reeves, and their screenplay is not a classic one and it falls short in trying to mirror some of the bravado elements of "Leaving Las Vegas", but somehow it gets the job done. Haas performance was solid as Zach. However, Madeline Zima's work as Rebecca was a bit overacted, and it seemed like that she had way too many Zima bottles to get into character. Jake Busey, Gary's son, performance as Dan Drake served up some good thespian ingredients. And Tania Raymonde's "easy on the eyes" work as a drug-addicted sleazy deserves a second round of work in other movies. "Crazy Eyes" is not a perfect structured movie whatsoever, but it did give me tipsy enough to buy into it, and vastly enjoy it. ***** Excellent