I watched this for one reason and I am perhaps ashamed to say it but it was because I think Amber Heard is gorgeous. She isn't always the best actress (though I think she isn't bad) but I just have a huge thing for her. What surprised me was that this little indie romance/dark comedy was actually okay. It was far from amazing and didn't blow me away but honestly I watch so many truly awful indie flicks that I don't make it half way through and this wasn't awful. In fact, it was a unique and well developed concept with some very dark humour and the spin on it using marketing as a driving force and lesson in morality was really well done. The pacing of the film isn't great and often drags just a little bit. The chemistry between our lead stars isn't perfect, it isn't bad but there is some spark missing. I also am not sure they knew what direction or genre they wanted to take this film in and it feels a little jumbled at times. I think with a better director and perhaps screenwriter they could have honed the picture just a little better and made it more impressive. However, for what it is it was fun and worth watching if not mostly forgettable.
The aforementioned Amber Heard is the cutthroat Six. She has spent years creating her image and is a power hungry and emotionally void marketing manager. Heard is decent in the role. It isn't her best performance but she does it well. Shiloh Fernandez is okay in his role as Scat. He is supposed to be a brilliant marketing genius who is scatter brained and disillusioned with the advertising world. The problem is that he looks too young and isn't quiet believable in his role. He comes across as someone who just lucked out on a good idea. The chemistry with Heard is again, okay, but could have been much better. The supporting cast includes Kellan Lutz in a darkly comic role as Sneaky Pete. It isn't exactly a tough role but he does it decently. Brittany Snow shows up in a role so small if you sneeze you'll miss it so there isn't any point in even mentioning her. Everyone else plays their role decently but no one really stands out as worth mentioning.
Syrup is a satire and there is very few films that do satire well. This does is well. The problem is the potential is really great and it drops the ball frequently. Aram Rappaport is very inexperienced and this film needs a director with more style and vision. I was surprised to see that author Max Barry who wrote the novel the film is based on also co-wrote the screenplay with Rappaport. The entire movie just needed more experience. Now pleasure understand I enjoyed watching it, it just felt unfortunately forgettable. Still it was unique and a good story and the voice over narration scenes breaking the fourth wall worked very well. It was an average flick that showed a ton of potential. I have no doubt the book was exponentially better. 6/10
The aforementioned Amber Heard is the cutthroat Six. She has spent years creating her image and is a power hungry and emotionally void marketing manager. Heard is decent in the role. It isn't her best performance but she does it well. Shiloh Fernandez is okay in his role as Scat. He is supposed to be a brilliant marketing genius who is scatter brained and disillusioned with the advertising world. The problem is that he looks too young and isn't quiet believable in his role. He comes across as someone who just lucked out on a good idea. The chemistry with Heard is again, okay, but could have been much better. The supporting cast includes Kellan Lutz in a darkly comic role as Sneaky Pete. It isn't exactly a tough role but he does it decently. Brittany Snow shows up in a role so small if you sneeze you'll miss it so there isn't any point in even mentioning her. Everyone else plays their role decently but no one really stands out as worth mentioning.
Syrup is a satire and there is very few films that do satire well. This does is well. The problem is the potential is really great and it drops the ball frequently. Aram Rappaport is very inexperienced and this film needs a director with more style and vision. I was surprised to see that author Max Barry who wrote the novel the film is based on also co-wrote the screenplay with Rappaport. The entire movie just needed more experience. Now pleasure understand I enjoyed watching it, it just felt unfortunately forgettable. Still it was unique and a good story and the voice over narration scenes breaking the fourth wall worked very well. It was an average flick that showed a ton of potential. I have no doubt the book was exponentially better. 6/10