There is a good story here. How a family pulls together during a trying time, despite their differences, conflicts and foibles to love and care for each other. There is nonsense here that I fear may be an all too real ultra sensitivity that pervades liberal campuses. While the traumatic difficulties that one may face in their youth may be regrettable, there is no way that the Jennifer Mann character will be able to function in real life if she thinks she can live in a bubble of protection from someone hurting her delicate sensitivities. In some ways this is a powerful contrasts. There is family where there is acceptable and strengthening of backbone and character by the sibling rivalries that persist. Without realizing it, perhaps this movie is a meaningful criticism of the politically correct culture that weakens our fiber and a call to family to strengthen it. Put the challenges Agatha and her story of escaping Nazi Germany, learning a new language and a new life, and facing death and the strength she showed in contrast with the "triggered" response of students seemingly can't deal with the simple realities of seeing another person feel bad to the point of threatening a professor's job. A normal human being would simply experience the class, discount the remarks that the professor made, perhaps utter a "meh" and go one with their own life. The contrast of Agatha to the youth of today is damning.
Add a Review
-
fmwongmd2 June 2020An interesting look at the intersection of millennial culture and academia. Justin Long and his character's family are an interesting study.
-
redmondgarmony24 April 2021Saw it on a plane, so I couldn't watch until the very end... But it was painful to watch because all of the characters were SO annoyingly over sensitive and victim-like. I predict it will become a cult classic with time (as did 'Idiocracy' have a resurgence when Trump was elected) and will be viewed with affection as it depicts a time before EVERYONE lost their minds to the tyranny of left-wing liberal political agendas...
-
SKFCB6 September 2020I just had to respond to one of the reviews. All gen exers are over 40 now. The main character was a millennial and his students are post millennials.
-
cekadah8 December 2019Josh, a part time writing professor, must juggle his life between; a disgruntled student, his very strange girlfriend, his estranged relationship with his father, his dying grandmother, his do nothing brother, and his odd mother.
This story jumps from one scene to another and even though Josh is the connecting character throughout, nothing seems to jell into one story. At movies end I still felt the story wasn't finished.
Plus there are some comedy scenes that just do not make it to the comedy level. -
mkrb-2656311 July 2021Justin is far too good for this movie. It's like it's been made to purely to put a smile the PC/Woke/Inclusive brigade and anger and infuriate normal logical thinking people. Avoid unless you really have absolutely nothing better to watch - which in this day and age is impossible.
-
Bad-Good-Great14 December 2019The non-stop blah, blah, and blah of all the characters in this movie is just like what we used to see and hear in every Woody Allen's movie. The leading role as a entry-level apprentice-like young professor in some New York college got everything mixed up, teaching career, his job security, his popularity in the class, his relationship to all of his family members and his temporary lover, his this and his that, everything related to him seems suddenly turn into a situation so embarrassed, so difficult and so hard to deal with at the same time. "Blessings never come together, disasters always strike at the same moment", this old Chinese saying is exactly what we see in this chaotic movie. But do we need this Woody Allen's New York episode in the 3rd kind? Why all the stories happened in Big Apple always tasted so rotten and so despair? Why anybody in this big city always has to deal with these kind no-big-deal or way-too-big-deal craps all the time. The people who claimed themselves New York proud, privileged residents are actually struggling in a harder situation like people living in San Francisco or San Jose, high rents, high living cost, everything so expensive, but does we need to see or hear more of these craps? Do we need another Woody Allen styled and formulaic movie with mouthful blabbering? The answer is NO.
-
Rob-O-Cop7 December 2019I was a little worried by the low score of this movie and the one positive review, but I always like Justin Long and the trailer looked good. The director and or actors obviously have some people who dislike them regardless of their output as this film is an expertly written and performed piece of film making that hits on many levels. If you're rating this a 1 like 20% of the voters then you didn't watch the movie and your vote is a personal vendetta of some kind.
Anyway, on to my thoughts on the film.
This was a really moving and entertaining look into the lives of a family we can all relate to around the last days of their loved Grandmother (Mother, Great Grand Mother).
The acting was exceptional, and for anyone who hasn't yet been through the passing of a loved one passing from old age and general body failure, this is exactly how it goes. The film dealt with and touched on so many details of it, it felt real, human and heart felt. My eyes welled up a little but I think I'm just tired, or there's some dust in the air, or something....... But it wasn't dealt with a some sad tear jerker of a movie, it was simply a slice of this family's life and the movie centered around well formed characters with well formed personality quirks and importantly some insights in to the difficulties of modern life.
I did really like Justin's predicament as an impassioned professor trying to engage his class in the good old 60s/70s movie way, and how that back fired because of the world we now live in. And there was humor through it all, it was always funny even when it was about the sadder moments, what a fantastically well balanced and enjoyable movie this is to slip out without any fanfare.
This movie is really a 9, but I thought if I put that in my rating you'd think I was one of the film crew hyping a rubbish movie. This movie is so not that, it's a masterfully written acted and edited work of modern film making that perfectly hits its mark for all of its 93 minute run time.
I'll be watching out for the directors next movie and it's great to see Justin is choosing his projects well. Also good to see Fran Drescher doing a great straight role. Wasn't expecting that. She was perfect. They all were. -
latinfineart29 September 2023Though Justin Long plays a fairly reasonable character and a believable person, virtually all the other characters in this movie are annoying, some of them are downright obnoxious, and as somebody who adamantly rejects uber PC and woke politics, I found it rather nauseating to deal with the ultra liberal PC BS that the movie portrayed. Just grow some thicker skin and stop blaming the entire universe on your sensitivities, deal with your issues and move on, just try to behave like an adult. The entire culture will appreciate your effort, nobody appreciates weakness, thin skin, and a desire to placate everything that's considered to be PC and everyone who is easily "triggered". That is just weak, pathetic, and obnoxious.
-
For me, watching and enjoying a movie requires that I either (1) like some of main characters or (2) like the story or (3) find the cinematography interesting. Most good movies all three are satisfied.
For this movie I wasn't able to find any of those. While I generally like Justin Long, here as an Adjunct Professor teaching writing, in this movie I didn't like him at all. The dialog is generally uninspired and bland. And I had forgotten how annoying Fran Drescher's nasal delivery is.
I had moderately good hopes for this movie but I found it to be mostly a waste of time. Life is too short to watch too many mediocre movies.
I watched it at home on DVD from my public library. -
shibal-0090212 May 2020Too slow But it does reflect on a lot of real life scenarios
-
ks-6050015 March 2020It's totally not a comedy and just too bored to watch. Little blah sorry it's not my type of movie I enjoy. If there's no story, pls make scene for acting, if there's no acting, pls make it funny. But neither happen here. The actor is recently the 2nd movie I watched him, the first one is he got drugged and lose his wallet, promise won't watch his production the 3rd time.
-
TheDome8128 March 2024Firs of all, I have o say I really hate anything to do with academia. That includes books and movies. It's so self indulgent it makes me sick. I know, you should write about things you know about. But get a life. It really does exist outside of the hallowed halls of education.
That said, I also hate movies about a bunch of annoying people. And this movie was chock full of them. In fact, about the only character I didn't actually hate was the dying grandma. At least she had some good in her. But the rest of the crew? Just horrible, self-centered people.
So it was a struggle, but I did actually finish the film But I honestly couldn't wait for ti to end. For the life of me, I don't understand all the reviewers here who loved this movie!
If you liked this review, be sure to check out MovieJunkieMark on the interwebs. . -
kebar26 February 2020Really went into this movie expecting to hate it, due to the low ratings, and have a few times been pleasantly surprised after reading bad reviews only to find that something clicked with me and I enjoyed it despite what others thought, so I decided to check it out.
I don't usually enjoy Justin Long, but he's really grown on me as an actor, Fran Drescher was great and looked amazing, Lynn Cohen, who played the grandmother was delightful, as always, and the character of the sister was top notch.
I enjoyed the relationships between the siblings, I loved their love and support of each other and their grandmother in her final days and I found the whole movie in general. enjoyable, funny, bittersweet and very engaging. -
truemythmedia3 August 2019Some of my favorite films are the ones that don't have much ostensible plot movement at first glance. I like films where characters just meander aimlessly as they work through certain social issues, or reevaluate their place in their own lives, and really, that's what this film is all about. It's about taking a temperature reading in the current political climate and deciding if it's time to make a meaningful and purposeful change in the way we live our lives. Josh (Justin Long, "Drag Me to Hell") is not a bad guy, though he does has his issues; he's a bit self-centered, he thinks he can fix everyone's problems for them and attempts to do so, and sometimes he just won't shut up enough for other people to get a word in. At the same time, Josh is trying. He makes a honest effort to connect with his family as his grandmother lies dying in the hospital, even going out of his way multiple times to try to convince his father (Richard Schiff, "Seven") to visit her, though his relationship with her over the last years has been strained (Grandma is mom's mom and the parents are divorced). Through these sequences we begin to get a sense of who Josh is and what he truly believes, and we also get passing interactions with minor characters that gently play on the import and sometimes uncomfortable social issues and how he as a white, straight, cisgender male plays into those issues. He approaches certain situations with as much gravitas as he can, but in the end, sometimes, he just finds himself at a loss for what to do. Many of the situations Josh finds himself in don't seem to really have an obvious answer as to what truly is 'The Right Thing' to do, and when he feels at a loss he feels as if he needs to fix it, when, in the end, all he really needs to do is listen, understand, and try to sympathize with the people he may have inadvertently hurt or offended. Beyond making a few important points, this film is also really funny. The theater in which I saw this movie was mostly full, and the crowd seemed to absolutely eat the humor up. Most of the jokes arises from uncomfortable or awkward situations, but there are plenty of great character chemistry moments, one liners, jokes that were previously set up and executed flawlessly, and though many of the jokes revolve around hot issues, none of it ever feels forced, crass, or ill-conceived; it feels real and honest. I think the reason I enjoyed this film so much is that it doesn't really claim to have any answers. It just asks that you open your ears and mind to the changing climate, and shut up for a while, at least long enough to hear the other voices and opinions around you. Overall, "Safe Spaces" was a very enjoyable, very 'woke' comedy that feels right at home in 2019.
-
franklindf15 February 2020This is a great comedy that reminds a little bit of standup comedy. The scenes would be hard to do in standup because they involve a setup with circumstances and other characters - but it resembles standup in that each scene and the dialogue almost completely make up the substance and humor of the film. You have a well-intentioned millennial named Josh played by Justin Long who despite his best efforts simply cannot avoid putting his foot in his mouth. A large part of the humor deals with overly-sensitive and politically correct people, who Josh simply cannot avoid enraging - this comes out through taboo topics like sexual abuse, overly protected children, sexual philandering, and death. It's just hilarious to watch each scene spiral out of control with Josh coming out with mud on his face looking like the aggressor or bad guy, even though his intentions are good. He tries so hard to deal with each situation but just falls on his face and can never say the right thing, even when nearly one else has no problem doing so. So this dynamic is the setup for comedy; a series of blunders. I can see it compared to Woody Allen, mainly in Josh's hasty dialogue and frantic, victim mentality. But it's a little different, probably more like Amy Schumer - this is a little more of satire with dark, awkward, and deadpan humor. Josh has no redeeming qualities to speak of whereas Woody Allen's early characters seemed to be more cunning and find a way out on top. You won't get much of a story but if you like this type of humor you will be laughing out loud.
-
David_Alexander_L20 February 2020This is not a comedy.
This is a rare and honest look at the Millennial / Gen Y & Gen X. It is disturbing to say the least, and shows modern liberal American society in all it's dark glory. It was hard for me to watch this film, because I actually wanted to hit (yep) some of the characters in the movie for their over sensitivity and detachment from reality.
In real life - as Gen X will hopefully soon learn - there are no safe spaces. The only coherent character in the film was of Justin Long - a decent human being being forced to the corner by literally everyone around him. It is shocking to see how the liberal academia are behaving now. and I feel this was a good representation of what is going in colleges and universities around USA at the moment (Berkeley, anyone?).
Gen Y & Gen X had it too good now for too long. Their entitlement and self importance is over shadowing any effective processes that can be achieved - if given the chance - at any college or university classroom. These kids are unchallenged because of too much emotional safety regulations some pompous academics decided to implement in schools all over America. I always considered myself to be a left-wing liberal before understanding that I am actually now being moved to the center-right by these people. Young Americans are being thrown into smaller and smaller social groups, branding everyone else as their enemy for some reason. Yes, social media and smartphones have a lot to be blamed for, but not just. It is their parents and sometime their grandparents who forgot somewhere along the way that kids need to be constantly challenged intellectually in order for them to develop a meaningful and proactive life choices. The safety net that the liberal left has flanged across America will come tumbling down one day in such a crashing noise that we will probably feel the tidal waves of it until the end of this century.
10 years ago, when I became vegan, I thought I was doing the right thing, in line with my generation. Now I feel that the liberal-left agenda has been pushed too far. Only time will tell where it leads us.
This film is disturbing mirror into current American social trends. It is recommended viewing, if you have the stomach for it.
Justin Long is one of my all time favourite actors, and I would basically watch any film he is in. I am grateful to the writer / director of this film, Daniel Schechter, for giving him the opportunity to shine in this role, -
sallymeisner17 December 2019I was engaged from the opening scene and remained so throughout. Dan Schechter and his amazing cast create a very real feeling drama that demonstrates without judgement how well-intentioned teachers, parents, children and siblings make mistakes and move forward regardless. The movie had me laughing from the guy and crying from the heart.
-
jdarden-9030330 December 2019This is a great movie of substance and funny as all hell. Not like any other ive seen before and very relevant to the times we are living in. People need to see this, stop rating it low low eq people!
-
This movie is a good piece of art, I mean it points to all the hard stuffs in life and show them in a raw unedited way so you can really feel the burn from the events that are depicted here. The injustice, the family drama, the safe space mob hit everything is so real and close to the heart that its almost very annoying and hard to watch and enjoy. But its a good capture I tell you that !
-
ricky_dry_county9 December 20191) There are two titles: Safe Spaces & After Class. 2) Justin Long plays the usual Jason Bateman type pathetic guy who can't whole heartedly stand up behind anything despite clearly knowing what's right and wrong. 3) Some strong family based situations serve as the highlight. The film's guilty of the usual indie shtick of characters blabbering non stop over one another when in group scenarios. 4) The College Safe Space/triggered stuff is funny yet the film decides not to choose sides (obviously, you don't wanna be a pariah in Hollywood). There's a hysterical diner screen 5) There's almost no character arc for the lead and he seems to regress meekly towards the end, if anything. That could be taken as something that happens more often in real life, so not such a deal breaker.
-
kurtisjvandermolen7 March 2023This movie is brilliantly written and continuously funny-which is nearly impossible to do. Irreverent to everything, but circling around to an uneasy acceptance of how things are actually, this movie is both a snapshot and a moving picture of society as we are now. What blows my mind is the Google review of 50% and the popular review of same on this forum. Did we not frame your social phenomenon correctly? Do we care? (In real life, "no". But thanks for giving us something to entertain us and laugh a little. And, good luck carrying the weight of your inordinate feelings for a full life cycle. As another apt movie title once said: this is "As Good As It Gets".)