Nebraska

A slow-starting movie that eventually pays off.

David opts to drive his father, Woody, to Lincoln, Nebraska to claim his supposed million dollar winnings. The family knows that he didn't actually win anything, but he won't stop talking about it. David caves, thinking that, at the very least, they can get away for awhile. They end up visiting his father's hometown along the way, where word gets out that Woody is a "millionaire". Naturally, people start coming out of the woodwork and demanding money after decades of silence. My main issue with this is how silly David and his family are when people actually start trying to bully them for money. My reaction would be to leave town. Seriously, stop stalling. Go to Lincoln, get it over with, and, most importantly, get the hell away from these people. Instead they linger. Most of the movie is spent there, since that's where there's more story to tell. You find out more about Woody's background, which is fairly interesting. I felt that they spent too much time there, though. It didn't entirely gel.

More on the plus side, however; at first I thought David's mother was a mean old bat. And she kind of is, but then I realized she's actually a hoot. She just tells it like it is. Even better, Nebraska really picks up more towards the middle, and has a satisfying ending.

My grade: B