As I was waiting outside of the theatre for my friend before the press screening for State of Play, I couldn’t help but notice the snickering coming from a snide group of individuals, who apparently consider berets and trench coats to be “timeless couture,” being directed at me.   All I had to see was the exaggerated curl of the lip on one of the unimpressed group members as he spat out the word ‘online’ to his friends to know what was going on. I turned my head away from them and with the same overstated level of disdain the man had, I spat the word ‘print’ and sighed as I continued to wait for my fellow critic friend. 

You see my fellow reader friends, the print press and the online press have had a long time rivalry, and that is due to the fact that the bloggers get far more attention than newspaper journalists these days.  Because of that, there is a clear level of segregation that is present at every one of these screenings. They never really truly bothered me until after I saw how State of Play miraculously praised hardworking newspaper journalists and chastised bloggers for polluting the general public with their seemingly uneducated points of views.  After watching over two hours of the aphoristic horny love letter to journalists and seeing bloggers getting used as the proverbial cum rag, I realized that I was not going to write a formal review for this film, but rather I would adhere to the clichés of a being a true “blogger”…. comma splices and all.  

State of Play may be an all-star run of the mill political thriller, but it sure does have a complex synopsis. (Although I’m tempted to copy and paste the plot summary from IMDB, I will refrain from doing so.)  Academy award winner Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a well-respected yet jaded reporter who has been assigned to investigate a story of two seemingly unrelated deaths with a rookie doe-eyed “cheap and hungry” blogger named Della (played by Rachel McAdams) by his potty-mouthed and merciless editor. (Played by Academy Award winner Helen Mirren.) 

He then soon discovers his old college roommate and now congressman; Stephen Collins (played by Ben Affleck) has been implicated in a sex scandal with one of the deceased, (who apparently jumped in front of a subway that morning) which could effectively end his career as a successful politician.  When Stephen tells Cal that his mistress didn’t kill herself, Cal and Della delve further into the investigation only to discover that they may have dug too deep as they both enter a world of murder, and corporate espionage. Usual mainstream political thriller issues and “blogger hatred” ensues. *Note: Are we really supposed to believe Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck were college roommates? Can we say…AGE DIFFERENCE?

First off, if you were expecting a glowing review I would suggest you look on an another site that fears the “Rotten Tomato,” because despite the critical praise that this film is receiving, I will not join the masses. Director Kevin MacDonald may have delivered a carefully shot film, but unfortunately trying to fit a six-hour story in a two-hour movie does come with its problems.

While the story itself has more depth than a John Grisham adaptation, it still has plenty of plot holes that just didn’t make sense to me by the end of the film and just like police procedurals, the film only examined character problems, traits and flaws during the filler scenes when it could have been the other way around. I found myself far more enthralled into Cal and Stephen’s scorned wife’s (played by the beautiful Robin “ I need to take those stringy hair extensions out” Wright Penn) private connection, rather than finding out what the actual mystery was. 

The film also makes the red herrings in I Know who Killed Me seem clever and subtle as the hints towards the “twist” were heavy-handed and were so obviously rushed that even a stoned “blogger” could pick up on them. (I’m not admitting anything.)

As to be expected, the film was fairly well acted. Russell Crowe again steals the show with his as*hole charm and killer acting chops…but let’s face it…. Crowe could do a film about sitting on a couch and picking his toe jam with his digital blackberry pen and it would STILL be considered a solid performance. 

Ben Affleck also showcased his two impressive skills: crying on command and making viewers think that he is acting by over emphasizing the fifth and last word in every sentence. (Why has it taken me this long to notice it?) 

Although I do find Rachel McAdams to be a competent actress, she unfortunately did not have much to do for her role basically consisted of scowling at Crowe while playing the naïve sidekick blogger that doesn’t know better.

Although Jason Bateman will be praised for stealing the show with his small yet comedic role as a sleazy informant, I felt like watching his scenes should have came with a two-drink minimum. The comedy routine didn’t seem to fit in with the tone of the film and like the great Rob Zombie once said, “it was like putting Chewbacca in Bonnie and Clyde.” 

The only person I found truly enjoyable to watch was the amazing Helen “Mrs. Tingle” Mirren. Sure her role generally consisted of cursing at her staff, but hearing “ I want to know who she knew, who she blew, what color are her knickers” from her mouth deserves a star on its own. 

Don’t get me wrong, State of Play is not a horrible film by any means. The political thriller was proficiently shot, written and acted. However, the film is too mainstream to be taken seriously come Oscar time and it’s too early in the year for this to be talked about after opening weekend. But what do I know? I’m just a blogger.  

Rating:

Tags: Academy Award, ben affleck, blogger, Bonnie and Clyd, Chewbacca, Helen Mirren, I Know who Killed Me, IMDB, Rachel McAdams, rob zombie, Russell Crowe, State of Play