Plantiana
Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.
Solemplex
To me, this movie is perfection.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Jim Mullen Tate (TheFearmakers)
Scenes in the trailer (and the poster image), where Jack Black's former high school loser parties down with James Marsden's popular cool guy at their class reunion, come and go in an 11th hour flash, and mean very little in one of the most falsely advertised motion pictures ever made...After a dry set-up involving Black seeking Marsden in Los Angeles, as his wife and son thinks he's on a business trip, leads to a shocking twist that's buried in the promotion for two reasons: It might take away from those yearning for Jack to regain the comedy crown from the Zach Galifianakis and Josh Gad types who stole his funny fat guy thunder years ago...And for anyone who actually paid to see a comedy, you might want to hold on to their money: The overall execution of what we do get from THE D TRAIN is awkward, slow- paced, and buries a vacant plot that suffers a bigger identity crisis than the dull and pointless main character. (CultFilmFreaks.com)
drake-harbinger
3 and under are reserved for movies in which the acting is garbage. the acting in this movie is good.the movie is the problem.jack black has chops, but they're wasted in this movie. mr. marsden also sells it. the acting isn't what's wrong with this movie. what's wrong is: what? why did we, the audience, just watch this? it was everywhere, all over the place, and had no landing. it just sort of was.in a few weeks someone will be talking to me about the movie about that guy at the reunion where he got buttf*cked, and i'll say: "Idunno man. Idunno what you're talking about." Then he'll mention Jack Black, and I'll say, "Oh, I think there was a Netflix thing that sucked where he was a salesman of some kind, and that dude from the transgender show who is really popular was his boss." we'll both agree that that's the movie we both saw, then we'll go back to our desks.the end.that's where this ends.
phd_travel
This is a comedy that is quite funny then things twist to a more serious mode but it's still incisively funny when it's dark.A small town is planning a high school reunion. Jack Black plays a guy who wants to get the popular kid from high school to attend. James Marsden plays the actor who made a national commercial on TV. Jack Black plays an annoying character but only he can make it acceptable and funny in a Shallow Hal kind of way. Could easily have been painful but somehow it isn't. James Marsden is very good - he plays strung out and washed out very well. It is good to see how actors can act beyond the action superhero or rom com roles.Some commentary about the small town guy making big but not really making it, high school vs adult hood, marriage and forgiveness. Things work out quite well and there is a proper wedding unlike some other indie movies.Different enough to be watchable.
krocheav
Writer directors Andrew Mogel and Jarrad Paul seem to want it both ways. With this movie they throw in all forms of crude low-life drug and sexual sensationalism while expecting us to look for something higher. Problem is it's never clear to the viewer just what audience they are aiming for - what they want to say - or where they are rightly heading. This is a pity because on one hand they are saying look at all the available crap you can indulge in (and they pile it on) but then attempt to introduce a halfway interesting awareness angle that's not always quite as convincing as it needs to be - leaving audiences a little confused and hanging in irritated limbo.The story and its characters are weak and vulgar but we are supposed to find something lovable about them. Any quality moral insights are shrouded in dubious message type situations - IE: If spending quality time with your 14yr old son is reduced to talking about the merits of a threesome - then these folk need to take a very serious look at their understanding of responsible parenting!. It also looks as if they and the producers sold their souls to the 'cancer stick' companies - with heavy 40's style cigarette shot usage - each one glamorously 'set-up' for all their characters (no matter what age) add-nauseous. Give us a break - it took a long time to educate humanity and clean up the air but takes such a short time for commercial fools to kill it again.What could have been a good try at worthy character observations ends up as a "let's make a film for everybody" that ends up pleasing next to no-one. What's left are reasonable intentions buffed to a trashy finish....It's also a another case of the Hollywood promotions machine not knowing how to sell its product to the right audience.
