★☆☆☆☆

The Great Gatsby proves you can be a big budget movie and truly suck!

I like Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. Even if you didn’t like his stint as Spiderman, Seabiscuit is a movie one should watch over and over again because it is so well done. Skipping his role in Titanic which too many men were forced to watch over and over by the women in their lives, you have to forever respect Leonardo DiCaprio for his role as Arnie Grape in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. Johnny Depp was a much saner person in that movie as well.

Admittedly I never read the book for this movie. Yes, for someone who writes books themselves that is probably some unforgivable crime, but, there it is, I never read it. I don’t think I would have enjoyed this movie more had I read the book though.

Yes, it is a feast for the eyes with the cars and costumes. It was kind of nice to know that when automobiles were starting to take over we still had dirt roads leading into New York City. The telling of the story itself just kind of sucked.

Yes, I’m sure many women were caught up on the hopeless romance and the guy who was trying to help Gatsby repair it but . . .

What there is of a plot in The Great Gatsby

For those who have yet to see it but will one day be forced to by your current significant other, The Great Gatsby is a front for a massive con. Not just a con, a many layered many moving pieces con. Rather than doing a good job detailing the con like an episode of White Collar would do, the movie just falls apart when the con falls apart. Yes, it ends like quite a few stories of that era, with someone at a typewriter tapping out the story they just lived/observed.

Guys, I cannot recommend you rent this movie for yourself unless you have a massive thing for watching 1920s era cars and pageantry. Sadly, you are probably going to have to see it anyway. Just make certain it is punishment for doing something you really wanted to do and totally enjoyed, otherwise the price might be too high.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.