IMDb user comments for
Tadpole (2002)

Werbung

Filter:

Best Chronological Prolific Authors Loved It Hated It Spoiler verstecken:

Seite 1 von 10:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Übersicht

93 Nutzerkommentare insgesamt

---

25 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Reviewers missing the point, 29. Juli 2003
Author: mwyarbrough von Chicago

I'm perplexed by the number of people who seem to miss the crucial element of this film: that Oscar is not as mature as he thinks he is. His "love" for Eve doesn't feel real to the viewer because it's not. His patter--at tea, in the bar, and elsewhere--feels forced and self-conscious because it is. Because he is very intelligent, he makes the classic adolescent mistake of overestimating his own maturity and the force of his own feelings. As Diane, Bebe Neuwirth points out that it's not his maturity that draws so many women to him, but that he is still unjaded. That is, his most attractive quality is in fact the precise opposite of what he thinks it is. Eve's rebuff, though a bit ambivalent, forces him to reevaluate his own feelings. The film's only major flaw is that it leaves this process underexplicated, but when at the end he is more responsive to his classmate's overtures it becomes clear that he is starting to see the light, however vaguely. The film's point is thus obvious: a crucial part of growing up is realizing how much growing up one has left to do. That it makes this point in such a refreshing, funny, and absurd way is the film's charm.

---

9 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
An excellent film...wonderful example of storytelling., 18. Juni 2002

Author: Chris Thomas (kwar891@yahoo.com) von Chicago, Illinois

I was lucky enough to see this film at the Cine Vegas Film Festival last week and I must say that I am shocked at its low overall score thus far. The best part of this film is its screenplay. Heather McGowen and Niels Mueller did an wonderful job putting this story together. If you are looking for a film that knows how to develop its characters, build suspense and most importantly can tell a story the way it is meant to be told, then you need to see Tadpole. The acting in this film was also excellent. Bebe Neuwirth, John Ritter and Aaron Stanford gave great performances. This is a funny and touching film that anyone that is a fan of a good screenplay will enjoy.

---

7 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
yes, it's lightweight, but how often does a genuinely witty, funny romcom come along?, 19. Juni 2003
Author: campanologist von London

I don't understand the attacks that have been made on this film - not just on this site, but elsewhere on the web.

There are a few holes in the script, and the whole things is less substantial than a soap bubble, but it's still charming, witty and very funny. There are points where you feel they haven't followed something up enough, or explained something enough, but this film has better developed characters than almost any other romantic comedy you could name. Plus, of course, explanation isn't everything. In fact, sometimes, you're better off without it. A film that requires you to think, speculate or assume what might have happened between scenes - or before the film started - isn't that a good thing?

Much has been made of the DV look of the film, but I hardly noticed - and I like a well shot piece of celluloid as much as the next person. Sometimes, though, you just don't need the gorgeous, sweeping vistas of Lawrence of Arabia - and this is a small, independent gem. The use of DV is probably rather more to do with budget than laziness. In fact laziness would seem to be an unlikely part of the equation, what with the film being shot in a fortnight.

If the thought of a 15-year-old spouting Voltaire fills you with the urge to punch someone, this probably isn't the film for you. But how often does a thoughtful, not formulaic, intelligent, witty film come along. My advice would be to disregard the minor flaws and enjoy. 8/10

---

5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Wonderful acting, great script...what's not to like?, 11. Mai 2003

Author: ilikeimdb von Arlington, VA USA

I've read some other comments about the poor film quality/picture quality of this low-budget, quickly done fairly short (77 minutes) film. Frankly, I'd rather watch Tadpole ten times than sit through the horribly boring technically beautiful special effects of either StarWars I or II. Tadpole captures the essence of interesting film making by focusing on the characters, the story, the situations; and it does so in a way that's doesn't parrot yet another low-brow TV situation comedy. Between the inspired writing, the well nuanced acting on all counts (with nary a weak performance anywhere), and the decent editing, I fail to see how one can complain about this movie from the perspective of it being an enjoyable mini-novella/romp through New York. Comments I've read on the weak acting I find unsupportable by any normative standard.

---

6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Am I missing something?, 18. November 2005

Author: ldavis-2 von lalaland

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Just caught this on IFC. Poster mwyarbrough thinks those who have a problem with "Tadpole" don't get it: "Because he is very intelligent, Oscar makes the classic adolescent mistake of overestimating his own maturity..." The problem with this assessment is that no adult in the real world, no matter how sophisticated (and the adults here twist themselves into pretzels to "prove" how "sophisticated" they are) would put up with this obnoxious little sh*t for 5 minutes! The only thing that rang true in this Murmur of the Heart wanna-be is Obnoxious Little Sh*t's paranoia about Step-Mama's Gal Pal. But how he tries to stop her is mean, and when she all-too happily drops the bomb, Dad (who's such a wuss, he opens his Thanksgiving toast with an apology to Native Americans) won't confront them, and Step-Mama reacts with some half-hearted "I'm shocked" retorts. As others have noted, a crime was committed, but only in the movies can a 15 year old boy be served at a bar without getting carded, bed an older woman, have other older women swoon over him, and French kiss Step-Mama, who tells him: "You're old enough to make your own decisions!" Oy! No wonder Sundance ate it up, critics compared it to Woody Allen, and Miramax picked it up for a whopping $6 million! That whirring sound you hear is Voltaire spinning in his grave!

---

5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
touchy but occasionally amusing comedy, 3. August 2003
Author: Roland E. Zwick (magneteach@aol.com) von United States

Oscar Grubman is a `40 year-old trapped in a 15 year-old's body,' a bright prep school sophomore who prefers Voltaire and Henry Miller to icons of pop culture and more `seasoned' women to girls his own age. The problem is that the woman he fancies himself in love with now is his very own stepmother, a heart specialist appropriately enough named Eve.

Despite the admittedly touchy subject matter, `Tadpole' exudes a great deal of undeniable charm, thanks, primarily, to superb performances by a first-rate cast and to the wry humor of much of the Heather McGowan/Niels Muller screenplay. Aaron Stanford and Sigourney Weaver are wonderful as Oscar and Eve, two extremely intelligent people who know that in other circumstances they might have been able to act on their feelings but who have the wisdom and maturity to see things for what they truly are. The possibility of giving into a `forbidden love' can exert a powerful force on an individual, and `Tadpole' does a nice job capturing that theme in a lighthearted, non-threatening way.

Of course, `Tadpole' taps into that age-old fantasy of a young boy's obsession with an older woman and one wonders how the audience would feel if the situation were reversed and he were the 40 year-old and she the 15 year-old in the relationship. I suspect, somehow, that a film on that subject would carry with it a darker, more sinister tone than the one we find in `Tadpole.' Actually, there are a number of very funny scenes in this film, with much of the humor deriving from the secrecy, misunderstandings and double entendres that would naturally arise from such a situation. Indeed, some of the movie plays like classic Restoration farce with an ersatz-incestuous twist. A good deal of the humor arises from the fact that the older women in the film see in this precocious teenager the kind of passion, intelligence and sensitivity that they don't find in men their own age.

Director Gary Winick shot the film in a digital format, giving the movie a slightly shaggy `independent' feel. This heightens the sense of intimacy and immediacy needed to confront this particular topic without seeming to exploit it at the same time. A slicker, more `commercial' look and approach would most likely have made the film appear too sleazy, distasteful and arch. As it is, we are amused at the same time we are appalled.

`Tadpole,' by lowering the protagonist's age and keeping the matter `all in the family' so to speak, has brought `The Graduate' into the 21st Century.

---

2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A fun evening you don't want to miss., 5. Juli 2002

Author: tw1zzlers von Jerusalem, Israel

A very entertaining and intelligently scripted comedy, "Tadpole" focuses on 15-year-old Oscar Grubman (Stanford) who is mature beyond his years and finds himself in a web of adult play which leads to a series of humorous intrigues only the silver screen can capture so well. No spoilers here, just see it and enjoy. Bebe Neuwirth shines, as do Sigourney Weaver, John Ritter and the entire cast, tightly knit, all on their toes, led by brilliant newcomer, Aaron Stanford. Watch for him; he's clearly going places.

---

3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
3 stars (out of 4), 15. Oktober 2002

Author: Mike Weston (mweston) von Silicon Valley, CA

Oscar Grubman (newcomer Aaron Stanford, who is really about 25 years old) is a precocious high school sophomore. *Really* precocious. He regularly speaks French in his normal life, and seems to always be reading Voltaire (the one liners seen throughout the film as inter-titles are apparently Voltaire quotes).

The film happens over a long Thanksgiving weekend in New York City. We first see Oscar on the train on his way home, briefly talking to a pretty classmate who seems interested in him. After she leaves, Oscar's friend Charlie (Robert Iler from "The Sopranos"), who may be the sanest character in the film, asks Oscar about her, and Oscar dismisses her by saying that her hands are those of a baby. Apparently he appreciates hands that show more character.

We soon learn that the hands he really likes belong to Eve (Sigourney Weaver). She's a medical researcher, whose marriage to Oscar's father, Stanley (John Ritter), makes her Oscar's stepmother. Oscar does not seem deterred by this little obstacle. I can see his point, as I am also a huge fan of Weaver's (even going so far as to see "Heartbreakers"), but the age difference is pretty extreme, not to mention that little almost incest issue.

Diane (Bebe Neuwirth from "Cheers"), is a chiropractor who is Eve's best friend. *You might want to skip the rest of this paragraph if you don't know much about the film already.* Oscar runs into Diane late at night after drinking too much, and when he smells Eve's perfume on a scarf Diane borrowed, Oscar "accidentally" ends up sleeping with her. This scenario is of course reminiscent of "The Graduate," although Oscar's age causes some to question whether this is comedy or statutory rape. I vote for the former, and in fact Oscar's inexplicable ability to easily be served alcohol in a neighborhood bar bothered me more.

Much comedy ensues. In fact, it occurred to me later that low budget independent films are rarely comedies, and even more rarely this well done. The writing was was only adequate to good, but the performances were very good, especially from Bebe Neuwirth. And some of the wordless reaction shots are priceless.

The film was shot on digital video and transferred to film for distribution to most theaters. I have read complaints about the quality, but it seemed tolerable to me, except perhaps in the opening shots from the train. What matters is that it is not distracting.

I enjoyed this film quite a bit. It isn't life altering in the slightest, but it isn't trying to be. It's definitely worth checking out.

Seen on 8/31/2002.

---

4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Only a Reasonable Entertainment, 2. Januar 2005

Author: Claudio Carvalho von Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford) is a fifteen years old French student, who lives in USA, and spends the Thanksgiving with his father Stanley Grubman (John Ritter) and his stepmother Eve (Sigourney Weaver) in their apartment in New York. His mother is French and lives in France. Oscar is very precocious, cultured, polyglot and loves poetry, and he finds the girls of his age very silly, feeling a great attraction for older women. Oscar has a crush on his stepmother. However, her forty and something years best friend Diane Lodder (Bebe Neuwirth) has an affair with Oscar, and he becomes quite confused with this new situation. "Tadpole" is a reasonable comedy only, having some funny situations, but never reaching a target, having a terrible conclusion. When the viewer finishes watching the film, he will certainly ask: -What is the point? Further, in accordance with the information in IMDb, Aaron Stanford was born in 1977. Therefore, he was completely miscast, being twenty-five years old and pretending he is fifteen. Further, he is not charismatic as his character would require. John Ritter is a reasonable actor, but looks very snob in the role of a history professor of Columbia. Sigourney Weaver is lost, in a character who is neither "Mrs. Robinson" nor an example of a faithful wife. The best parts of the story belong to Bebe Neuwirth, who is amazingly funny and makes the film worth, together with its soundtrack. In summary, "Tadpole" is a forgettable entertainment, recommended for killing time. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Um Jovem Sedutor" ("A Young Seducer")

---

1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Very intelligent script and story, 9. Januar 2007

Author: von United States

I would give this movie a lower rating if I weren't open to cerebral, NYC upper-class intellectual tales. I think the lower ratings may be given by some reviewers who are more attracted to a farcical coming-of-age movie like Risky Business or similar. Okay, that was insulting, but I want to say that this was a very nuanced film with a superb script, delivered by excellent actors who didn't miss a note.

It is especially noteworthy that Ritter and Weaver and Neuwirth are known for comedic performances and I was never reminded of that during the film. If you have enjoyed any of Bill Murray's latest "smart" movies, you should watch this movie to see an entire cast pull off the same trick, with some of the credit undoubtedly due to the director.

That's not to say this is a tragedy or a movie that takes itself too seriously - no symbolism, no dramatic cinematography. There are no surprise plot twists -- it's a genre movie, and there's plenty of room to smile when you sympathize with several of the actors at various points. We're caught up in the kind of performance that makes you hurt along with the characters even though the plot is one of the oldest there is.

---

---

Seite 1 von 10:

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Add another comment

---

Weitere Links

Plot summary	Nutzerbewertungen	Filmpreise
Newsgroup reviews	Externe Kritiken	Offizielle Website
Plot keywords	Hauptübersicht	Your user comments
Your vote history