Like a bad movie I couldn't stop watching
920960
Just not my cup of tea.  A little too surreal with a bad ending.  Never reading one of the free recommendations again.
251784
I usually love indie films, quirky films, dark humor films, etc, and I like the actors in this movie so this had the potential for me to really like it. However, I hated this movie (which I almost never say). I hated it mostly because of the suggestion of animal cruelty. I don't even care if this is a spoiler but when she kills the man's dog by kicking it to a bloody pulp, I was disgusted & couldn't shake it. Is that entertainment? Hell NO! I finished watching the movie in hopes that it would redeem itself but it just kept getting worse. Lots of cruelty & disrespect to life in this movie & weird unnecessary mutilation type stuff. I don't recommend this movie & im sorry I watched it.
2965240
This was probably one of the worst movies I have seen this year.  As depressing as its themes, it was so bad, it actually made me laugh several times.  The themes of the movie are heavy, but the way in which the themes are handled is so far from real life and real people, that it's hard to find this movie depressing.  I must also admit that I had to give up on the movie at a certain point, because I could not take a single more second, so my review is somewhat limited to what I actually could bear to watch.

First of all, the divorce between the male lead and his wife and his remarriage all seem to happen within a few short months.  Umm, yeah.  A partner in a law firm and a doctor wife: extremely doubtful even under amicable terms -- and this was no friendly parting.

Second, as with most Hollywood films, the romantic relationship is given short shrift.  We have no idea why these people are in love.  Lust?  Yes - it's the typical young girl/older man with power dynamic.  But we are never shown how these people came to love each other.  The relationship is completely unbelievable.

Third, the relationship between the stepchild and the woman who broke up his parents' marriage is patently absurd.  The somewhat older child, who is maybe 10 years old, seems to instantly bond with Portman after a putting up a weak and quick-lived resistance.  He even seems to side with her against the ex-wife at certain points.  Again, completely unrealistic.

In addition, the ex-wife is portrayed as a cold bitch, when she is probably the only sympathetic character in the whole movie.  However, even her character is completely unrealistic.  She has an extremely sharp tongue towards Portman, obviously justifiably so, and yet is willing to go out of her way to help her in the end.

The way Portman's parents embrace the husband she stole from another woman is yet another in a long line of absurdities.  In fact, no one in the whole movie seems to have a problem with the 20 something Portman having an affair with a 40 something partner in the law firm and causing the breakup of his marriage.  No judgments except from the ex-wife, who is portrayed as in the wrong somehow.

This is yet another movie inexplicably written by human beings, who have no idea what real human turmoil, emotions, relationships, or experiences are like.  A computer would have done a better job at depicting the characters and situations involved in this film.
1472768
I really wish that I could unwatch this movie. I expected it to be ridiculous, but in a good, entertaining way...was neither good or entertaining. I almost stopped watching it halfway through. I wish I had, but I was determined to see it through.
757140
It was torture to watch this movie. The cast and crew deserve congratulations for doing a lot with very little,but the result is not so bad that its good-it is simply bad. The charectors are all maddening-I've never been so happy to see people die. The songs are better than you'd expect but they can't save this. There's a galaxy of difference between an unintentially bad movie like "Glen or Glenda" and a calculated,deliberately awful movie like this. Luckily for Amazon I'm too embarrassed about buying this tape to demand my money back.
1852216
I stopped watching at minute 12-- it was that bad.  Horrible.  Ryan Reynolds is a great actor; it's not his fault the movie is disjointed and does not flow well.
1182178
I am a person that loves musicals but I hated this movie. I couldn't even watch the entire thing. I had to fast forward to the end just to find out what happened. It was annoying and I felt like there was nothing to keep my interest. The story didn't make any sense. I'm so glad I didn't spend the money to see it in the theater and waited until I could rent in on Amazon.
1769455
As other reviewers have mentioned, it is very rare that I will actually turn off a bad movie rather than watch any more of it.  American Breakdown was a movie I made an exception for.  I didn't even bother fast forwarding any further to see if it would get bettter, I just knew it wouldn't.  Every minute longer that I watched it made me feel like more of a sucker for getting taken by RedBox and the fraud they pull off with movies like this. Start-studded cast, glitzy cover and complete garbage under the covers.  I want to like you Red Box but this is beneath you.
3241653
The back to back JAWS references in the first ten minutesat the high schoolwere distracting, then I couldn't get past the terrible acting. :/ Had to give up after 20 minutes.
2002398
It was so bad that after a few minutes I started changing scenes. It never got better.  I very poor movie.
670903
My roommate and I unfortunately wasted an hour and twenty minutes of our lives on this movie, perhaps the most frustrating complilation of bad acting and no plot that I have ever seen.  We stayed awake until the wee hours of the night watching this movie, hoping for the shocking turn of events that would make the whole attempt worthwhile. That time never came.  This movie was like the fight that you have with your boyfriend that takes hours and hours and nothing ever gets accomplished. For this reason, why would you ever watch, rent voluntarily or much to my horror even considering buying this god awful film? I feel it safe to say that I almost went bald viewing this film because I was constantly pulling at my hair, hoping for the torture to end. I only write this review to save others from the gut wreching pain. Mind you, I only gave this film one star because Amazon did not allow me to give it negative 10.
1148615
This movie was very depressing and just shows how terrible humans can be. It was very slow moving also. I felt so depressed after watching this movie- don't watch it!!
1550819
This was not at all what I expected. I thought this would be like The Secret Garden, but this felt like a movie for a 4 year old, and I'm so upset that this movie was even suggested that I watch this. I struggled to stick with the movie in hopes it would get better, but after 20-30 minutes into it, I had to turn it off and take a nap. I couldn't even finish it.
2677858
I loathe myself for watching this movie all the way through.  My husband left early in to go to bed.  Sleep would have been far preferable to gutting out this garbage movie with my dad.  I feel the one star reveiws really nailed it.  It boggles my mind that there are so many 5 star reveiws and just had to read a few.  Apparently, those who are stupid enough to enjoy this stupid movie also think that writing a review is to recap the whole story for you.  I hated this movie because the writing was cringe factor bad, the acting in places was horrible, it was a moral cess pool, and the character development was just awful.
2029108
Words cannot describe the level of regret I have for losing the 2 hours of my life I spent watching this.
4409221
ruined though bad acting and too many improbabilities.  Low budget.  Sort of like the horror films where the good guy knocks the bad guy down, then simply puts his weapon down, turns his back on the bad guy and starts walking away, just as the bad guy is beginning to get up again.  The film had that feeling for me.  Stupid sub plot about the tensions between the father and son detracted from the film.  Looks like they ran out of money half way through and just decided to end the film abruptly, with everyone living happily ever after.
3874884
Hello,  Terrible just is not a strong enough word for this movie.  I think it taxed my brain just to watch it.  Please pass on this one for you own good.  Thanks.