I remember I watched it in Japan when I moved there and I thought it was a good film. Turns out I was wrong. It was pretty average.
I think my tastes must've changed a bit, but it seemed too schmaltzy and contrived. Apparently it was heavily based on a book written in Spanish where the main character goes to meet the author who is writing the story he's in. But in that story, the main character commits suicide at the end. Maybe that would've made this film better?
I dunno. I think it's tough when making art about making art – there's this bit where Dustin Hoffman's character (a professor of literature) is going on about how the character's death is so beautiful, perfect and meaningful, but ultimately I thought it was kind of shit.
You can't build up the fiction inside the fiction so much – it really is on trial here.
And all the stuff with Maggie Gyllenhaal and the cookies made we want to throw up. Blurgh! Sickly sweet unbelievable love story alert. Yeah, it would've been better if Ferrel died at the end. 6/10
