The Social Network

Are you ready for a long-winded ramble on why I disliked the movie The Social Network? Because you're going to get one.

I finally saw it last night, and as with Inception, I was concerned it had been overhyped to the point that there was no way it could ever possibly be as good as everyone has said. Unlike Inception, I was right. I just don't get what everyone sees in this movie. For starters:

1. The Story

So this is based on a true story and, I'm sure, filled with some exaggerated plot points. Nevertheless it is a true story. And a dull one. So some college kid and a friend he meets his freshman year start up a website that makes them billionaires. Oh, wait. The friend gets cut out of the deal and only walks away with 65 million dollars and one less friend. Are we supposed to feel bad for them? I mean, think back to college. Some guy you meet comes up with a brilliant idea. You are good friends, but you haven't known him all that long. Then he pulls a dick move on his billion dollar idea and you sue him and walk away with 65 million. How upset are you going to be that you and this dude are no longer friends? I don't buy it. As for Mark Zuckerberg, same thing. Oh, boo hoo, some girl you liked in college won't accept your friend request. Oh, well. There was just no point to the movie. What was I supposed to take away from it?

2. The Dialogue

I loved the West Wing. I thought the way it was written and the words they used and the walking conversations worked so well. It's the White House. I expect things to be that way. Aaron Sorkin rights great dialogue. BUT, this rapid fire speak just didn't work for me in this movie. I know they are all in Harvard and way more intelligent than I could ever dream to be, but still. Everyone they meet speaks this way and that's just not what life is like in the real world. Eventually you're going to run across an idiot. They are everywhere. Everyone just took themselves way too seriously. It's "The Facebook". You didn't cure cancer.

Beyond that, it was just two hours of people talking really fast and suing each other. Rich people fighting over money. Boring.

It's one of those movies you watch and every one is praising and you just think why? I don't understand. It wasn't the worst movie I've ever seen. If it was just a movie that came out about Facebook that I watched one Sunday afternoon, I might walk away from it thinking, oh, that was alright. But Best Picture? Not by a long shot.

And I'm not someone who needs a lot of bells and whistles to enjoy a movie. The Straight Story is one of my favorite films and there is absolutely nothing in that movie but a guy riding a lawn mower.

This movie just felt like it was so self-important, which is true to a lot of what Aaron Sorkin does. With the West Wing it worked. The White House and what they deal with are pretty important things. It's also why Studio 60 on Sunset Strip didn't. People writing for a comedy show are not that important, but they sure thought they were. People inventing Facebook, not important. Yes, Facebook is an amazing tool that everyone uses and has changed the internet. That's a pretty significant thing. I'm not denying that. But, it's still a website. People thought MySpace was pretty special at one time. Now look at it.

I love Facebook. I check it way more often than I should. Embarrassingly often. Like, every 10 minutes. It's sad, really. I thank these people for inventing it and bringing it into my life. But, I really didn't need to see a movie about it. Maybe a nice article in a magazine or newspaper. Or online.