Dir. David Mamet
"Everybody makes their own fun. If you don't make it yourself, then it isn't fun. It's entertainment."
If that quote, taken from one of the characters in State and Main, then this film isn't fun. It's just really, really well done entertainment.
State and Main is one of the several tongue-in-cheek films that Hollywood puts out, which heavily criticizes and almost condemns itself. The story largely follows Joseph Turner White (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who is getting his script, The Old Mill, made into a motion picture. Everything is far from great however, as one problem after another pops up, such as the town they're shooting in does not have an Old Mill, and since the crew spent all of the budget, well...there's no mill for the move The Old Mill. How does one exactly shoot that? And with Hoffman's story arc, we are also introduced to a love interest in Rebecca Pidgeon, and eventually he'll have to make a choice over what's more important, Hollywood and fame, or the small town girl who understands him completely.
The other half of the story fares out slightly better, as it follows Walt Price (William H. Macy) an overloaded producer (I'm guessing that, because they don't ever fully address what he is), who has to juggle just as many problems, such as a leading actor (Alec Baldwin) who has made a hobby out of sleeping with underage girls, and a leading actress who takes issue with the nudity in the feature (Sarah Jessica Parker). If you haven't picked up on it by now, this is a very dark comedy, and a lot of the humor comes from some very touchy and dark subjects.
That said, I found it thoroughly hilarious and engaging, even despite some serious flaws. Alec Baldwin, who I usually love was kind of flat here. He did have a few good lines, but for the most part he seems to be channeling one of his brothers, probably Daniel Baldwin which was a poor choice. I also took severe issue with Rebecca Pidgeon's character, the love interest for Phillip Seymour Hoffman's character. She was fell even flatter than Alec Baldwin and her acting was on par with the delivery someone in a coma would give. She couldn't emote, and not once did I actually buy any of her character's motivations or choices, which makes the already unbelievably fast moving relationship with her and Hoffman even more ludicrous.
But aside from those two gripes, I really did enjoy the hell out of this film. It's charming, vulgar, entertaining, and hilarious, not an easy mix to pull off. If ever was there a point when I wanted to use a half point for the grading scale on a movie, it's with this one, and I think it'd be a perfect 3.5. Unfortunately I've decided long ago that things will get too complicated and messy if throw in halves, so since I genuinely enjoyed State and Main, despite some big reservations, I'm going to bump it upwards instead of knocking it down. I highly recommend State and Main, flaws and all.
4 out of 5
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