Close to the entrance to Death Valley is the God-forsaken town of Trona. It's nearly empty: dry, with polluted water and poisoned soil. Dilapidated houses hold slackers and stoners. The town is virtually owned by Dirk, a heartless young meth dealer. In the midst of this lives Ray Tuckby, a naà¯f, unhappily married with a slothful son. The highlight of Ray's day is chatting with Nora, a clerk at the market. When Ray comes home early from work and finds his wife in bed with his brother, a few things start to change. Then he meets Merl, who's putting in a Chevron station, and Merl encourages Ray to dream. Can he? A recipe for meringue may hold one of the keys. Written by

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merklekranz from United States
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Danny DeVito lends his presence to what is essentially minimalist entertainment. The acting and character development are totally acceptable, but the story is very simplistic, and is further weakened by unnecessary voice overs. There are moments of black comedy, romance, and action, but the film suffers from an identity crisis, because none of the above features are very strong, leaving "Just Add Water" with sort of a questionable genre. Marginally recommended for those who like isolated desert towns, with goofy characters. The closest similar movies I can think of would be "Sordid Lives" or "Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me" - MERK

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I_saw_it_happen from United States
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This is a quite enjoyable movie, well-made and pretty much an atmosphere piece, which is extremely formulaic (you'll know everything that's going to happen more than half-way through), but actually succeeds at being the sort of 'heart-warming' stuff that so many films market themselves as and fail at.

The humor is just offbeat enough to be particular, and I was actually quite happy to see that there were practically no pop culture references; this is significant, because for me, this means there's an actual story sustaining itself, rather than 'shout-outs' to the audience's immersion in contemporary culture.

And finally, perhaps most significantly: Jonah Hall, who I have disparaged in other posts, and whose acting I generally dislike, was actually quite good in this film. In other films, I've felt as if he was simply trying to imitate 'Cartman' from Southpark; there is a bit of that in this film, but Hall makes the role his own, and actually becomes a character you really care about, and feel Ray's pride and disappointment in. Perhaps Hall is developing as an actor, or perhaps this movie simply allowed him to do a better job.

This is a pretty nice 'date movie'. One of the only 'feel good' movies I've ever seen that wasn't saccharin and annoying.

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Mr_Alphonso from United States
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I absolutely loved this film. It's endearing from beginning to end. Seeing it tonight at the DGA was a great way to spend the evening. I had no idea what I was walking into beyond the stellar cast comprised of Dylan Walsh, Tracy Middendorf, Danny DeVito and the ever beautiful Cerina Vincent. Rounding out the cast were a couple cameos including a great turn by uber-slacker Justin Long.

Funny. That's the underlying truth. But without the over-the-top syrup that comedies like this strive for. Dylan's stretching his legs into a new category of his career...a fine actor beyond the scope of Nip/Tuck. I'm anxious to see his role as the psychotic dad in The Stepfather remake lensing right now.

DeVito's voice-over carried the comedic scenes into a hilarious threshold and I found myself clapping while busting a gut at some of the sequences...including a nod at Blazing Saddles with a meth'd out woman punching a dog.

And Hart Bochner. What can I say? He forever left an image opposite Alan Rickman trying to broker a deal in the original Die Hard playing Ellis...well, chalk up his resume to a writer/director to watch in the coming years. He's transitioned quite well and created a gem of a little film.

Brilliant. Not to miss.

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Mike B from Canada
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Is this movie a satire, comedy, vigilante, romance ...? It works for the first hour or so as a satire and then becomes a combination syrupy romance and revenge-vigilante movie.

Some of the acting is good - the male lead is, but the female grocery-girl love interest is simplistic. The dead-beats and loser-town America were well portrayed and this gave the movie some authenticity - the homes and interiors were certainly not taken from 'Town and Country'.

But when it's said and done the ending is a lame-brain fairy tale. Too bad because I did feel 'sometimes' that this film was going somewhere.

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Rutger Prins from Netherlands
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This movie is set in the most hopeless part of American society. Where everyone has a hopeless, pathetic job or no job at all and spend their free time in an equally hopeless and neglecting manner. It's just over the top and presented in a delightful, light hearted way.

It's easy to identify with the lead character who is somewhat more "normal" then the people around him, but too passive to change things. Following his daily routine you realize (at least I did) it's how we all live, just exaggerated.

I found it a sharp comedy in both the humorous and the dramatic sense of the word. I liked it.

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illinoisbrah99 from United States
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In my opinion, this was a really good film. I particularly liked the way that "country folk" were depicted. The film showed the humorous elements of living in the country as well as a sweeter side of living in the country (living happily without the need for all kinds of material things).

I also liked the way that the love story was depicted. It was the ordinary moments that made their love grow to what it is.

The thing that initially interested me in this movie was that Jonah Hill and Justin Long are in it as well as Danny Devito. As I was watching the film I noticed that one of the characters also stars in "The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang" along with Justin Long in a very similar role. It might be another film for you to check out!

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stevepat99 from United States
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I'm certain other references to Juno likewise referred to Alaska, a place that abounds with cold, desolate areas devoid of humans and hence devoid of intelligent life. Similar in fact to the town of Trona. IMDb's plot sets the pace noting the film involves a decent guy "...with a dead-end life in the dead-end town of Trona.." So far, the makings of fall off the chair comedy, right! NOT. There is more, much more. Assume the first hour or so has the comedic pace of a slow slug and you have further insight into the vastly overrated INDIE. IQ's less than the cost of a postage stamp....you got em' in droves...just count the beer cans. Add upon this the necessary suspension of the suspension of belief. No law enforcement, teen crooks, food less market, no people, few cars, no tourists, no traffic, no money and yes...just the location for a spanking new Chevron station.

Oh yes, rolling down the aisle comedy...the only family we meet assaults viewers with its low life dysfunctionality from meals, to relationships to parenting,,,,an endless humorless assault. People who dwell in the dust for chance, a moment each day, to obsess over a decades old fleeting memory.

A place where bicycle teen toughies somehow rule and are so brainless they would take on a man who's wealth could see them taken down in a nanosecond. However, going through this looking glass makes all possible.

Smart lines that those who rave about the script and compare to Juno are obviously referring to: To Ray (parking lot cashier) from wife over diner: How many cars did you count today? Ray (the most intelligent man in Trona) to Danny Devito: Do you OWN Chevron? Finally it ended in the manor of a bad keystone cops comedy. It was over, all that was left was for me to wipe the heavy layer of Trona's dust from my face. That happens if you sit too close to the screen.

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dilbertsuperman from Baghdad
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This is a light romantic comedy that is very dopey and really not that funny. It has some moderately humorous situations and characters but for the most part this thing is a terrible bore that winds up being a visual montage for Danny DeVito's endless voice-overs. He also has a bit part.

PLOT: Life in Troma, a desert town is kind of a pain in the ass for Ray, his wife is nuts, his kid hates him, his life gets turned upside down and then something interesting happens to Ray, who normally puts up with everything life hands him... it might have something to do with the cashier at the local mart.. what follows is total fluff, a little bit of strained chemistry as our actor tries to portray a heterosexual male and comes up a little short.

Overall it's a bore with a couple of fun scenes here and there -take a peek if you are bored, don't expect much.

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Common Sense
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Alright so I never thought I would give something a 1 out of 10 stars, but this was honestly the worst movie I have ever seen it had to contend with things like Santa Claus defeats the martians.

It had zero comedic appeal to me and was just an uncomfortable movie. I did not laugh once, did not like any of the characters, and ended up feeling slightly depressed but mostly bored.

Now I am sure there are people out there who will love the type of humor in the movie (though I am not sure what is was), but it just did not appeal to me at all. All said I would not watch this movie even if it were free. However, if you know you have a really strange sense of humor it is possible that you could end up loving it as it seemed to at least be consistent.

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Gigi White from United States
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I'm always partial to sunny California movies because I live in a rainy climate. So, a few stars just for that...

However, while this movie started off strong - a sparse, dark comedy, engaging storyline; it ended on an altogether different and implausible note. Which is a shame because it was a movie with a lot of potential, good writing, good story, good casting and good acting.

The "romance" between the two lead characters was a snooze. For the feminists out there, if you take issue with the story of Snow White and what it implies then the love story here may also irk you. The son's romantic life, while again implausible, was more interesting.

The not-so-subtle symbolism of dry, arid land vs. fertile land practically smacks you in the face.

Basically, if you have a couple of hours to kill on a rainy day, watch it. It's mostly entertaining. If you like complex situations neatly wrapped up with a bright Hollywood bow, you're in luck. If you like movies where peace is brought when gender roles are strictly adhered to, even better.

rural setting|vigilante justice|middle age romance|bad landlord|cheating wife|pet turtle|tollbooth guard|drugs|california|

AKAs Titles:



Certifications:
Germany:12 / Netherlands:6 / Singapore:M18 / UK:15 / USA:R