Barney’s Version – 3

“Unpleasant,” “absurd,” “pointless” are the descriptors that come to mind when reacting to this purported comedy, with “insufferable” not far behind. A little Paul Giamatti can be interesting, although I’m tiring of even that, but a whole movie of him smoking cigars, drinking and behaving badly is hard to take. Then there is the question, why would three women – two with looks, one with money – marry him? He supposedly turns into a heartwarming figure at the end, thanks to Alzheimer’s Disease, but by then it is way too late.
While I am on the subject of smoking, have I noted in these pages that every movie I have seen in the last two years, not counting children’s films and a few rare exceptions, has shown a character smoking. In more than a few, such as Barney’s Version, it is hardly a plot point; it is instead a major character crutch. I wonder if some actors could convey “troubled” without a cigarette in their hand? Of course, some will offer the excuse that they are “setting the scene” in the 1950s or before, when smoking was much more prevalent. But even then, many people did not smoke, and more often than not the exact same movie could be made without anyone lighting up. Were the protestors from 20 years ago, like Andy Tobias, rebuffed in their efforts to get Hollywood to go smokeless, or did they just get tired and give up?

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