MovieChat Forums > You Again (2010) Discussion > one of the most IRRESPONSIBLE movies I h...

one of the most IRRESPONSIBLE movies I have ever seen!!

posted 13 years ago by sourpuss
73 replies | jump to latest

Okay, so I totally am the person who never understood why people go on sites just to bash a movie but having just seen this movie I felt instantly compelled to express my complete shock at how horrible and irresponsible this movie unfolded before my very eyes.

I just watched this film on Netflix and was at first excited to endulge in one of my guiltiest pleasures, the "chick" flick. But I just could not believe how horrible it just kept getting and getting.

How is this film irresponsible? Because it teaches that if you bully a person for four years and never own up to it (unless you get caught, of course) that not only do you get to marry the man of your dreams, but the family of the person you tormented will welcome you with open and loving arms.

Joanna's character is one of the most deplorable characters I have ever seen on film. Not just because she bullies someone (I actually agree that we do stupid and sometimes terrible things when we are children and should be forgiven for them if we are truly sorry) but because she willingly seduces the family of the person she tormented without telling them the horrible things she did to their daughter. If she truly had forgotten, then her actions would make sense. But the film tells us that she does remember them...so she has been willingly withholding something incredibly important from them the whole time she was with Tim. She lied to her fiance and she lied to his family. She did it because she just wanted to be a part of a family? Okay, I could buy that but then she still continues to bully the sister even further. Just horrible!

Could the film have redeemed Joanna? Yes...by making her truly sorry for what she did to Kirsten Bell's character and apologizing not only to her character but to the whole family. But instead Joanna just says "Look at what you did to me!!!"

I am truly not trying to insult anyone who liked this movie...I for one just felt really insulted while watching it.

Did I put too much thought into it? Perhaps. But thank you for letting me get this off my chest!

[–] primrosemoon 13 years ago

I understand your feelings. I chose to try and watch this movie last night on Starz on demand. Ended up ff-ing through most of it. For some reason I hadn't realized it was going to be a PG-rated Disney mess. It was awful and stereotypical. Females cat-fighting with each other... falling in pools... ugh, what a stupid mess.

[–] Wafflemort 13 years ago

Of damn course she didn't tell them! Why would she ruin her chances? That's why she continued bullying Marni as well, to make sure she would fear her and not say anything. Old habits die hard. I think it's understandable.

TSS
http://tinyurl.com/2f4loon

[–] teh_liz 13 years ago

So it's okay to be a bully if you're a habitual bully.

[–] sleepy88888 13 years ago

I totally agree with everything in the OP's post.

Basically, the movie demonstrated:

Joanna is STILL a liar.
Joanna is STILL a bully.
Joanna has not changed.
Joanna pretends to be someone she is not and puts on a face to everyone.

Yeah, how wonderful that Will still marries her. Idiot writer.

[–] Littlehoneyflower 13 years ago

I completely agree with the above and the original poster.

PLUS, as is often done in life, Joanna hides her terrible attitude and behaviour behind the curtain of philanthropy. "I can't be a bad person because I do charity work". The same thing happens with religion. I know so many Christians that are truly selfish and hateful people who hide behind their faith (as a Christian myself I find this extra deplorable and hypocritical).

Though let's face it, Kristin bell's character should have been direct and honest by saying from the get-go "hey, you were really cruel to me in high school, and I deserve an apology".

[–] windycheryl 11 years ago

fairydust_33,
Chiming in late, like 2 years late, I just saw the movie. I agree with you about Marni being honest and confronting JJ about her "innocent" act. But, I guess without the revenge thing going on, there wouldn't be a movie.

Take a chance, flip a coin, everything is 50/50

[–] CavalorCumano 13 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree with the above. This film was a sorry reflection of how morals and standards have hit rock bottom. Once upon a time, Disney (AKA Touchstone) would NEVER have even touched this script, let alone green-lighted it!

My life was a living hell in high school thanks to bullies, and I had really hoped "You Again" would show that they very seldom change their ways. I hear that many of my tormentors are STILL causing all kinds of trouble more than fifteen years later.

It was clearly established that Joanna was every bit as manipulative and devious as she had been in school. She hadn't changed one bit. For her to suddenly become remorseful and apologetic for her actions was completely unbelievable.

This film disgusted me!

[–] jfish24 13 years ago

I'm surprised at how many people are taking this silly movie so seriously. Nothing in this movie suggests that morals and values have hit "rock bottom", and I'm getting really tired of people suggesting this any time a mean character is shown in a movie. IT'S A MOVIE! This movie was about perspective, and how the different characters saw their high school situations, and how those perceived situations ultimately affected their lives. Here are some of the positive points made in the movie:

The past is the past.
Don't let anger/jealousy/revenge take over.
People sometimes make bad choices, but can make an effort to change.
The importance of giving people a second chance.
The difficult things we go through in life can help ultimately help us become stronger.
Honesty is always best.

The way I saw Joanna, was that she was troubled (her parents died) and acted out as a bully. Then she fell in love with Marni's brother, and made an effort to be better person and hide her bad side. One cannot change overnight though, so she was still pretty manipulative and b*tchy, and when Marni started bring up the past - it all came back. However, she ultimately broke down and really felt bad for all the pain she had caused Marni. Yes, a dumb movie - like all of them - where people change, and the word is saved in 90 min.

Seriously, what is all this talk about "people are so horrible", "The world is going to hell", and "Morals and standards have hit rock bottom"? It's almost like a mob mentality, and the more people that actually believe this kind of stuff will ultimately cause it to become true. There are billions of people in this world, and unfortunately not all of them are nice. It's too bad, but this has always been the case - look at some of the atrocities throughout history! However, this means that the rest of us need to try harder to make the world as good as it can possibly be. There are many great things happening in the world right now, such as the many anti-bullying campaigns. These weren't even a concept when I was in high school, and are a great way to send a message that bullying cannot be tolerated.

It's easy: Help people, promote kindness, give more, pay it forward. Movies are not a moral compass, they are simply entertainment.

[–] wevemoved 13 years ago

This review made the most sense. Nothing new was on TV tonight so my wife and I watched this and enjoyed it. Not a five star movie by any means but it was not as awful as most of the reviews depicted. Not every movie needs to be Citizen Kane.

[–] toadlily-950-865690 13 years ago

Thank you! I also love the part where Marni shows the video of Joanna being a b!tch, and everyone gets pissed at MARNI! Huh? And then Joanna just throws a fit and gets to marry this absolutely gorgeous guy as a reward. Stupid movie. Only worth watching for Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, and HOT James Wolk.

[–] carosun 13 years ago

It is JUST a movie, it's entertainment...the irresponsible ones are the ones who live their lives according to movies...and who think everybody does...
You talk like this was the only movie with a questionable outcome...

Live free or die!

[–] schoolqueen12 13 years ago

I couldn't believe he still married her in the end.....that made me want to turn this crap off!

[–] scorpio1386 13 years ago

Yeah, I still liked the movie, but the one thing I found myself saying after was "Was I supposed to like Joanna?" They had her as completely manipulative and it's only after Marni hurts her is she suddenly remorseful? So the lesson is...beware getting back at your bullies because you'll suddenly find out they have feelings too? Groan...

[–] charlotte_goldenblatt 13 years ago

well said.

[–] bbonacci-1 13 years ago

I came here to vent and I am so glad everyone said it all already!

There is only one thing that was missed in this thread that I thought was the horrible icing on the crappy cake.

IF (and it is a stretch) you decided to accept Joanna and be happy for them getting married, WHY would anyone (especially a woman) want to get married at a made over hospital cafeteria while her arm is in a full cast propped up at head level, instead of waiting until they were healed and could have a proper wedding?
AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH....WHY would the doctor (also the father of the groom) agree to allow them to have a full wedding with dancing just because they didn't technically leave the hospital? "You two can not leave this hospital, but you can do ANYTHING else you want, just so you don't leave the hospital"

I know it was supossed to be a light comedy, but to all those who say "just go with it and be entertained", you obviously do not have the same switch many of us do. If we are going to lose ourselves in a story, we can and WILL get knocked out of that mode when we are confronted with this level of ridiculousness.

[–] Sugarminx 13 years ago

--AND IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH....WHY would the doctor (also the father of the groom) agree to allow them to have a full wedding with dancing just because they didn't technically leave the hospital? "You two can not leave this hospital, but you can do ANYTHING else you want, just so you don't leave the hospital"--

:) This made me laugh!

When that curtain parted and I saw the way the cafeteria was decked out and there's that silly tart looking ridiculous in her wedding gown and mummified arm, I was all WTF? It was at this point, and I will admit, it took me long enough, that I said "why am watching this movie?"

Complete cobblers!

But Hall and Oats made up for it, as did the mini face-off b/w Cloris and Betty.

[–] norm-woodward 13 years ago

Yeah, I thought Joanna's part just didn't ring true throughout the movie, and I thought, at first, it was the actress's fault. Now I agree that it was the fault of the script.

Like, it was like they couldn't decide when to "convert" her to a sympathetic character. On hand, they were trying to say that she had actually turned her life around when her parents died, and somehow wanted to "make them proud" by becoming a compassionate nurse. However, she would never apologized for her vile activities in high school to Marnie, when confronted in private, nor wanted to tell her fiance until she listened to Dad's "best man" speech. But didn't she realized that she was marrying under false pretenses a great guy (albeit, a lawyer) way before then? Then why didn't she reveal her history before the condemning film was shown?

Compounded by her attempt to come off as the victim, and demonizing Marnie, and she just never came off as being rehabilitated enough to become a member of the family.

[–] staticsaber 13 years ago

"Could the film have redeemed Joanna? Yes...by making her truly sorry for what she did to Kirsten Bell's character and apologizing not only to her character but to the whole family. But instead Joanna just says "Look at what you did to me!!!"

Oh, but she DID redeem herself!

I just took and hour and a half.

She starts as some worthless bully who torments the main character, years later, "I'M A GOOD PERSON NOW!" And for the next hour... everyone loves her and the main character, the hero, the underdog... is crapped on, hell, the damned dog hates her for no reason... and that's just sad.

Now, she's supposed to have changed... but she still treats her new sister in law like utter crap... for no reason, but "Oh, mommy and daddy... I'm so sorry..."

The moment the hero finally calls the bitch out with proof that she's just horrible... THEIR BOTH TO BLAME. "We don't care if your life was miserable because of this girl, YOU RUINED HER WEDDING!"

... Well... maybe the girl can change... maybe she will learn fro- She starts throwing dinner plates at this girl that she "Regrets tormenting".

I have no respect for this character... but oh, it doesn't stop there. Everyone is pissed off at the hero for... hell, the brother... what a f--king moron.

But then... as the end comes, THE VILLAIN AND HERO ARE FRIENDS!

... an hour to late.

This movie was just painful for me. I just wanted the good guy to get some respect... and even when that happened, that didn't last long. Just... F--k this film.

"Rhino, you won the coin toss. Will you crush his skull or simply impale his heart on your horn?"

[–] Seinfeldrules 13 years ago

It was lame that we are supposed to believe that she changed. There really isn't much to make us think that. So they get married after all..what crap. However, the rest of the movie was awful so at least it was consistent.

Once again this goes to show that you can have some talent in the movie, but if the script is bad, the movie is going to be bad. Just a bad movie from start to finish.

[–] rocknrollprincess616 13 years ago

Okay. So... since everyone's here to vent... I'm gonna add one of my own little diatribes. If it ends up one of those tl; dr situations... I'm incredibly sorry for those of you scrolling through this thread.

Until it was mentioned that Disney/Touchstone was involved, I honestly didn't realize THEY, of all people, had been the ones to produce this movie (I clearly didn't see the logo at the beginning of the movie, my bad). But knowing that makes me even MORE angry about this movie than originally. I know Touchstone gets away with a lot more than Disney can since it isn't branded with the Disney logo, but how they even allowed this movie to be produced is beyond me. Not only is the script just down right awful, but the premise is even WORSE. I'd expect a lot more from the Disney/Touchstone people where family values are concerned. This movie did not send a good message AT ALL to its viewers.

Yes, Joanna was a bully in high school. And, as far as plot goes, that's a pretty good jumping off point. Marni has clearly been emotionally abused by this person incessantly for four whole years of her life. A few minutes into the movie we find that BECAUSE of said bullying, Marni pushed herself to become a better person; not just physically, but she also made something of herself. This feels like a rewarding concept, and not entirely far-fetched. Is it not every high school loser's dream to become successful in life, to show people how incredible they actually are? So, things were still going good at this point. I feel like the plane ride home was where things started to get out of hand.-- Also, I'd like to add that I could use a great deal LESS of Dwayne Johnson in my "family friendly" flicks. He's starting to bug the tar out of me.

It disgusts me that Joanna has never made mention of her even KNOWING about Marni. I mean, if the town they live in is so desperately small how did her brother not know? I went to high school with more than 4,000 people and that's simply 11th and 12th grade. How he managed not to know ANYTHING about his sister's social life in a school (most likely) considerably smaller than that is beyond me. Especially if they were so close at home.

And, honestly, I could overlook her not remembering Marni if she had, maybe, pulled her aside later and ACTUALLY apologized to her. She could have spent a day with Marni at a spa or something or getting their nails done and told her that she was sorry for treating her the way she did in high school, that she hadn't said anything to Marni's brother about it because she didn't want him to hate her, and try her best to make things work between the two girls. Or if she, quite honestly, DIDN'T remember her, I could probably overlook some things there. But she didn't. She DELIBERATELY lied to Will's family and didn't just pretend she didn't know Marni, but actually went so far as to CONTINUE bullying her.

But it doesn't stop there! Marni retaliates with her own brand of bullying, and tries to destroy their marriage. There is nothing heroic about our main character, nothing even remotely redeeming about HER either. I feel like the only person I can truly feel sorry for is Will. He seems to be the only one suffering out of this whole thing unjustly. Everyone else had what was coming to them. The apology isn't worth the torturous hour I had to sit through.

-- Also, can I add that doctors aren't allowed to treat family members? Since, you know, it's a conflict of interest. It's strictly not allowed.

This movie was a disaster. And, as someone who was bullied as a teenager (ALL through high school), it was absolutely disgusting. I only have one more thing to say:

HEY, TOUCHSTONE. YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!

"The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me."

[–] Seinfeldrules 13 years ago

What is also surprising (and sad) is that this movie has a 5.4 rating, which is not that bad. Over 10,000 people have voted, which is a fair sampling.

I don't see how people can give this more than a 3.They mishandled the bullying issue, it had a stupid ending, and the jokes were horrible all of the way though. It's not exactly breaking new ground having two women who hate each get in a fight in a pool.

It was a disaster in every way possible.

[–] rabbyt1 13 years ago

"I spent so many years trying to distance myself from the person I was."

She acknowledged how awful she was back then and was trying so hard to deny that anything happened she snapped- she wanted to be the perfect person for Will and it backfired on her. She did apologize and said she didn't expect her to forgive her at all.

They all acted terribly, but in the end it worked itself out. I do believe that Joanna did change into a better person, but the past can bring out the worst in us at times, that's all.