Peneflix MOVIE REVIEWS BY PENEFLIX
Will not debate the intelligence of actor/writer /director Jesse Eisenberg nor the acting acuity of Kieran Culkin; both men star as mismatched cousins “David (Eisenberg) and “Benji (Culkin) Kaplan”, journeying to Poland, a pilgrimage to the home of their recently deceased grandmother. They are members of a disparate tour group whose varied reasons for attending are unearthed as the days meld with the horrific history of the Holocaust.
David is serious, intent, afflicted with OCD while Benji is colossal charm, the sensitive barometer, sensing the hidden angst percolating at the heart of the excursion, also an unpredictable loose cannon. It is a sensational pairing, anchored with insight and thought-provoking memories of their youthful plights and high jinks; they are the same age and vastly different. Humor rescues the plot from mundane, stereotypical predictions.
But what was unimaginable was the perpetual, every other word, use of the word “like”, pushing to the level of extreme irritation; knowing it is ubiquitously part of today’s vernacular, it is still improper use of a legitimate word.
Profundity, sacrificed, slaughtered, by a four-letter word: LIKE! Herein lies the “real pain”.
TWO &1/2 STARS!!
Peneflix
