Smother
Year: 2008
Director: Vince Di Meglio
Studio: Screen Media Films
Stars: Diane Keaton, Dax Shepard, Liv Tyler
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 98 Mins.





“Smother” is a film about a guy (Dax Shepard), who one day gets fired from his job, as a physical therapist. If his day couldn’t get any worse, it does when he comes home to find out that his mother (Diane Keaton) drops in uninvited with all of her belonging and needing a place to stay. Soon, his life gets even crazier, when she interjects herself into everything he does, which drives him crazy. If that wasn’t enough, he having problems trying to find a descent job, a wife (Liv Tyler) that desperately wants a baby, and another houseguest (Mike White) that seems too busy talking to his computer and writing a screenplay. Now, he must deal with all that, while his mother continue to drive him crazy and smother him to the point that he loses his sanity.

I was really hoping that I would have a good time with “Smother”, as the film has such talented actresses in Diane Keaton, and Liv Tyler and was produced by Jay Roach of “Austin Powers” fame. You would think that this would be decent, but this quite frankly is one of the worst films released in 2008.

Vince Di Meglio’s direction was very flat and all over the place. He doesn’t do a good job making the material funny. Instead, this is a film that relies on one joke after another. It was to the point that the performances and film was becoming repetitive and annoying. Also, I didn’t care for the characters. The reason for that, Di Meglio direction of his actors was just awful. It was like; the actors were there to cash a paycheck. Diane Keaton, was very annoying, as she made her character very obnoxious. It turned me off to whatever was going on. Also, Liv Tyler, made her character quiet and lifeless. It hurts whatever chemistry she had with Dax Shepard, who was equally as boring, in the lead role.

The screenplay written by Di Meglio and Tim Rasmussen fails on all aspects. The plot went all over the place, as everything that went on felt rushed. The screenplay doesn’t developing the relationship between the main character and his mother or his wife. They also had no backstory or an introduction to any of these characters, which turned me off. Instead, they rush into the humor, which wasn’t the least bit funny. It felt dry and jokes were repetitive, as there was no set up to them. Also, I was bored with the way the screenwriters wrote the characters. Even though the performances ruined them, they were also not written well. The characters felt flat, as they felt like they came out of different movies.

This film is not filled with funny jokes; it’s filled with some of the most annoying characters you’ll ever see. “Smother” is a film that should be kicked out of the house, immediately.

Review Rating: One Star