One More Time (2015) Reviews

• A tough sell to the audience, as the characters are all so hard to really like.

  MartinHafer2016-04-08

  Although there are story elements to "One More Time" that I liked and it's a real shame that the film hampers itself by making it so difficult for the audience to care about the folks in the picture. To me, it's almost impossible to make a really good film given this serious handicap. When the film begins, Jude (Amber Heard) is awakening from a one- night stand. She's overslept and is late for work...and folks are waiting and waiting for her to arrive. Apparently, this isn't unusual for Jude. What is unusual is her soon leaving New York City to go stay with her father, famous old-time crooner Paul Lombard (Christopher Walken). Apparently, their relationship is stormy but she has no choice as she's about to be thrown out of her apartment for not paying her rent. But things aren't all rosy back with dad as their relationship, and every relationship in this odd family, is severely strained. Paul is a serial philanderer who only thinks of himself, Jude's sister is a demanding and rather high-strung young woman and the step-mother is nicknamed 'Satan' by her step-kids. Through the course of the film, most of these folks remain true to their life patterns...destroying themselves and those around them. And, by the end of the film, there's a vague suggestion that perhaps Jude is tired of all this. If this summary sounds a bit bleak and depressing, then you pretty much get the picture, though it at least has some nice singing throughout the film. The movie has some nice acting. While I found it hard to believe Walken could be a crooner, it was an interesting character and a nice stretch for him. Heard also was able to show that she could not only act but sing rather nicely. But nice acting and an interesting location shoot in the Hamptons aren't enough and the film is one I wouldn't rush out to see but might perhaps might catch when it appears on Netflix one day when you are looking for an undemanding film. Not bad....but also not particularly enjoyable either.

• Quirky, Fun, and Thoughtful: Everything an Indie should be.

  c_a_o2015-04-20

  In an era of recycled comic book sequel films and films praised more for their technical aspects than their substance, 'When I Live My Life Over Again' is very refreshing. First of all, Amber Heard is great in this breakout role for her, and I have no significant qualms with her performance, or really, anything in the film. Christopher Walken, however, steals the show, delivering his best performance in years, and is probably my personal favorite of his. He perfectly personifies the aging, listless, dad, and his low key style blends perfectly with Amber Heard's more loud and reckless style. Ultimately, this film, without giving away too much, is everything an independent film should be, and seeing it at the TriBeCa Film Festival was quite the treat.

• Good to see Chris Walken anytime.

  jdesando2016-04-07

  "Just because you can't be someone new doesn't mean you can't do something new" Jude (Amber Heard) To see Christopher Walken sing as a has-been crooner is to remember he started as an entertainer who could dance pretty meanly on the stage. Here he features an original song written by his character, Paul Lombard, in his sunset years hoping for a new musical start. One More Time is indeed about one more chance, not just for Paul but also his 31-year old daughter, Jude, who has some singing/writing gifts she is weakly promoting. Typically, she has to deal with her father's fame and her own inability to stay anchored in a place that's both physical and figurative. Like dad, Jude doesn't always do what's best for her (both of them sexually vulnerable), and like him she needs another chance as the title suggests. The most satisfactory moments are when the two go after each other's weaknesses, a form of tough love that allows both actors to sharpen their craft. When he comments that they live in "the poor part of the Hamptons," you are aware that they both live in an alternate universe where "poor" is a relative term. Like their lives, not everything is as it really is. The most normal conflict of the film comes when Paul's wife, Lucille (Ann Magnuson), starts divorce proceedings because of Paul's infidelities. Out of this discomforting circumstance comes a chance for conservative daughter, Corinne (Kelli Garner), to show her more aggressive side, another case of a character getting a chance. One more time is a small film that will leave Christopher Walken fans wanting more of his sneer and world weary irony, yet as a washed up but returning pop entertainer, his character seems to fit the actor one more time.

• People Create Problems for Themselves

  twotrybe2016-04-09

  Oh, woe is me, should be the appropriate title for this film. Here you have people who are well off enough but apparently aren't happy with their seemingly non-challenging lives. Christopher Walken is a singer who has seen his famous days in the rear view mirror get further and further away from him. He relives every moment he can through the retelling of those past lives as if to recapture the moment is like him trying to catch a cloud. Amber Heard's character is an alcoholic singer/writer who has a huge chip on her shoulders for whatever reason. She shouldn't but she does. The sister, played by Kelli Garner, is a tight bun and Hamish Linklater is her husband. Photogenic is a better way to describe this cast who lives in the Hamptons. So why the drama? Well, because Amber seems to think she is owed something as she messes up her life. And Chris's character falls into some traps of his own choosing but it doesn't make any sense where a man who presumably is in his 70's is trotting off having an affair at the same motel for months. I was expecting something else out of the motel scene but it was just a typical infidelity story. And I was expecting something something else out of the father/daughter relationship between Heard and Walken. In fact, this turned out to be nothing more of well to do people who really don't have any problems other than they were bored with each other. They sit around singing songs like it was a concert but they despise one another secretly for no other reason than just because. And it ended weird. No feel good, no resolution , no nothing. The soundtrack was good, though.

• Pedestrian family drama that fails to ignite.

  mickgmovies2016-04-18

  I watched this movie to see how the dynamic between Christopher Walken and Amber Heard would play out. In short it didn't work. Much like most of the movie Amber Heard, is Chris Walken's Indie-black-sheep daughter who returns to the comfort of the home when life and money gets too hard. When she gets there, her family feud with her more-than-perfect sister and it's-all-about-me-famous-singer-dad is rekindled The embers of the family's dysfunction's continue to smolder throughout the movie - much like Heard's continuous smoking of hand-rolled joints. The move is way too slow, and I was left not caring much for any of the characters. Highlights: Christopher Walken crooning his way through a Sinatra-esque song, and Kelli Garner's (Heard's sister) ice-queen-and-ice-pick-sharp 'offer' to Walken's 5th wife near the end of the movie. Lowlights: Everything in between.