There have been so many ‘based on a true story’ movies recently, that if this were real life, we’d all in a world of hurt. I don’t think I’ve actually seen a happy, comedic real-life movie. Maybe we just don’t like seeing people happy, whose lives turns out splendidly without any muss or fuss. Just this week alone, I’ve seen three such movies. IDK.
Welcome to Marwen is yet another movie based on a true story, however, this one gives you hope that if you’re beaten severely about the head and shoulders, you can still leave your ‘Mark’ on the world [Pun intended].
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Steve Carell brought the poor, unfortunate character of Mark Hogancamp to life with very little effort. I could almost taste his fear every time he was reminded of that terrible night, when three upstate New York rednecks –yes — NY does have rednecks (they just have a different drawl) beat him savagely, and took all his memories from his previous life.
Leslie Mann also gave a great performance as Nicol, playing Mark’s neighbor with good intentions but no courage to act on them. In one scene, we did see on her mantle several photos of Nicol with a preteen boy, sitting in a wheelchair. What was his part in this drama? And why were we introduced to Nicol’s belligerent ex-police officer boyfriend? He brought nothing to the movie other than complete ignorance of mankind.
Also, the ‘Barbie Dolls’ kind of freaked me out, but I still found them interesting in a way. Basically, that just about sums up my critique of Welcome to Marwen, freaky with a touch of intrigue.
Grade: B
About The Peetimes: I was able to get 3 good Peetimes, evenly spaced, with one being an emergency break.
There are no extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of Welcome to Marwen. (What we mean by Anything Extra.)
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RunPee Mom is our emotional bedrock. Without her, RunPee never would have lasted a decade as an app (which is since the dawn of time in internet years). She’s our biggest cheerleader and an unending source of unconditional love. She works cheerfully and tirelessly, seeing any movie we ask of her, writing interesting reviews, and being our…well…MOM. Her genres of choice: kiddie flicks, animated movies, emotional dramas, historical features, war films, diverse biographies, and even dense, diabolically plotted thrillers. She knows more about famous and infamous figures in history than said figures probably knew about themselves. She’s the Quiz Manager for the RunPee.com blog, and our resident movie celebrity/trivia expert. If you’ve taken a RunPee Quiz, you’ve most likely been given a virtual hug by RunPee Mom.
Jill Florio Administrator
Good review. I like Steve Carell. Were the dolls creepy? Or fun?