Are You Here

Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis are well known for playing certain types of characters. Most likely just being themselves. I think of these two as pretty much the same characters over and over again. This time wasn't really different, but in a few ways it was. Mental illness can be played on screen to show extreme examples trying to virtue signal or to make a point. In this case I think it was done fairly well and not really exaggerated. There is a sense of humor in these characters but this movie is not a comedy.People get delusional ideas about things because their brain isn't functioning properly. A little paranoid, a little manic, a little overwhelmed by life in general. They go into some type of mode. When they do the people around them need to manage around this person the best they can. This usually puts the friends and family in a very stressful and financially draining situation.In this movie we a see guy that through his own quirks and mental illness has separated from his family and its fallen to his friend that loves him as friends do to take care of him. This is basically a buddy movie.The Owen Wilson character is the typical nice guy, though confused and overthinking type that he usually plays. Spending his life tending to his friend and his job with any time away (and sometimes overlapping into his responsibility areas) chasing sex and drugs. I see it as escapism from the realities and pressures of his adult life.Galifianakis plays his part pretty well. A guy that has certain ideas in his head and lives his life according to his own thoughts. Which we see isn't a good thing because it interferes with functioning as an adult and places a burden on everyone that cares about him. Laura Ramsey's character is the point of the movie. At first glance she seems written as a mere plot device as a stereotypical gold digger that married an old man in hopes that he would die and she would inherit his fortune. We soon learn that the character isn't what we expect. She takes on part of the burden of helping the Galifianakis character assisting the Owen Wilson character. Things soon get complicated for her. As the "outsider" in the situation she is the voice of reason and to a degree the conscience for lack of a better term that works as the catalyst for changes.Amy Poehler's character isn't necessarily "the bad guy" in this. Though I think we are steered into her character being an antagonist of sorts. From a point of view, she has her own problems in life. She has concerns about her family, including her brother that due to his ideas and methodology of living his life being exacerbated by the well meaning and enabling friend... she feels she has lost ability to reach him and help him live as a functioning adult. There may be a tiny bit of actual and genuine greed, but I largely see a protectionism of what her father built, being security for the family and not a nostalgia for a store. The legacy of success would continue though the newly built and re-branded store. She would carry that torch to the next level of success and financial security.I see the genuine goodness in everyone involved in this story. I think the characters are well meaning and everyone has their own way of trying to deal with problems created by a man that refuses to take responsibility for himself. There is a moment where he finally accepts that his eccentricities are being harmful and takes his medication. In that, his way of thinking changes and he becomes reasonable and cooperative.People are not always logical and rational. Temptation is a pretty big thing. Some people are guided on impulse and when that happens bad choices can be made. Things are said and done that hurt people. This movie is a pretty good example of that. People make mistakes and sometimes can't see the consequences of their actions / behaviors. Every character in this movie has their own perspective and ways that their point of view and take on the situation come into play. there is a quote "when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change". I think this movie holds true to that.I think people could at some point of struggle in their lives, do a self assessment and ask themselves if THEY are the problem that needs to change in order to make things go more smoothly in their lives and for the people around them. I am not sure people would have that level of honesty with themselves until some things happen to them that they can no longer deny it. Such as the case with these characters.

Unfortunately, this movie stars Owen Wilson playing a watered down, less funny version of his Wedding Crashers character while Zach Galifinakis plays a more serious and way sadder version of his Hangover/Due Date character. For some reason, Wilson is the funnier one(?) while Amy Poelher isn’t funny at all. This whole film is funny actors doing their best with a less than mediocre script and ultimately not worth my $10. My rating is 2 stars only because you can tell how hard the actors are trying to turn trash into treasure.

This was billed as a comedy, and it did have some comedic moments, but in truth, it was a movie about a man played by Zack Galifinakas (sp) who has spent decades disabled by a mental disorder. It brought to mind what it might have been like for Kim Kardashian as Kanye West went over the rails in a manic state. He was held together and supported by his friend, played by Owen Wilson, who is great at managing his moods and supporting his friend where he is at. At the same time, Owen's character has no sense of purpose and is using sex (which we don't see, but it is clear what he is doing), pot and alcohol to avoid facing himself. By the end, there is character growth on both fronts.As someone who has some diagnosed mental disorders (depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADD), and a family history of some more serious disorders (including paranoia and possibly bipolar disorder), I found it heart-warming in the end. Although I didn't think they made enough of a case for Owen's character's relationship at the end. That part was not developed enough.Overall, I found it heartwarming and would like to see more like it.There is also a note at the end that originally Jennifer Aniston was slated to play Zack's step mother and Bradley Cooper to play the role Owen Wilson had. I just can't see that at all. Owen and the actress who played the step-mother were perfect.

The movie has f-bombs and nudity. Owen Wilson's character is a moral screw-up, numbing himself to life with abundant pot-smoking. His moral saving grace is the loyalty he shows in dealing with his childhood friend. Amy Poeler is the sister who stayed in town and watched her father spend his last years happily distracted by a hippie-chick singing the praises of back-to-farm life.This movie was good. I liked it and found myself thinking of it the next day. I liked the contrast of Amy Poehler's character saying she wanted to tear down that "crappy old house" and develop the farmland. Her brother, Zach, refuses and she marches home to her McMansion which sits in a treeless landscape of other McMansions. The next scene is at the farmhouse set beautifully in the pastoral landscape of Amish country. This is the "crappy old house."Throughout the movie we see a contrast between real and the modern markers of "success." Everyone seems hungry for more. Some—Owen, Zack and the new widow—hunger for something "real." Amy's character is still on the path gobbling-up "success" to fill her hunger.I like the use of the farmhouse as the a place that is fufills the hearts desire for home and the use of the newly widowed hippie-chick as representative of a desire that somebody that loves us be waiting for us at home.Can it be that in a world of kleenex homes and lives (useful to an end) that is hard to give a damn about—cookie-cutter condos and fakey-fakey careers—that mental illness is a normal reaction to an abnormally, flat-feeling world.Great exploration of these themes.

Just terrible.Just terrible.Just terrible.Did I mention this film has taken an hour amd a half of my life that I will never get back.

i love the characters as actors but film was a let down, great condition dvd and fast delivery

very disappointed with this movie - to me this was wasted money

Great Film to Watch - Especially when there 's nothing on TV

Bit a strange film, not as funny as I thought it would be