Listen Up Philip

Sure, I can see why some people found it to be a bit too much - and to each their own. But, I thought Jason Schwartzman’s performance bordered on brilliant. I found his character to be complex and not just some egomaniac… and despite the poor way Philip handles everything in the film, J.S. actually got me to empathize with the character in this strange, indefinable way (which, to be honest, is what I look for from art). Great job, Alex Ross Perry.

Alex Ross Perry's film feels like it is from another era. This is not a bad thing. The stylistic pose of the movie matches the eccentric, odd and false intellectualism that the protagonist offers. Jason Schwartzman gives a brilliant and cringe-worthy realism to his performance. Elisabeth Moss is perfectly cast as the girlfriend is quickly approaching the end of her patience for the man she clearly loves. As Perry's movie moves forward it becomes clear that Philip is essentially "unloveable." Far too self-absorbed to actually care for others, he has become a hollow man who flounders in the self-deception that he is a complex and deep human being. There are clues that he might have once held the potential of true talent and a person who "deserved" love. As this truly scalding character study reveals, all of the opinions, academic ideals and artist angst are nothing more than a pose. Philip is an empty man who prefers to drink and wallow in self-pity than to actually live. It is Alex Ross Perry's cinematic turn of hand that this film works so well. At just under 110 minutes, I was never bored. This is an entertaining, funny and ultimately very sad movie.

Terrible!. I thought Ashley was way more interesting character than Philip!

I enjoyed how the professional reviewers cited that this movie was cerebral and for more intellectual viewers. I disagree- this movie probably is not bad if you get paid to watch movies. It is slow, unsurprising, and unrewarding on any level with the exception of Elisabeth Moss who is brilliant. If you pay to watch movies and would like to be entertained, don’t bother with this movie. Just find that “friend” you have that is a self-involved a$$hole and hang out with them. Perhaps you know one of those professional movie reviewers.

109 minutes of my life I will never get back. Worst movie ever.

Functioning as both a comedy and a drama, and presented in a faux-serious, 1970s retro style, à la Truffaut's Antoine Doinel series, this is about a narcissistic man losing the last vestiges of his humanity as he becomes an emotionally isolated writer. Under the tutelage of an equally self-centered mentor - who to other people would appear a sad failure - Jason Schwartzman generates an uncomfortable empathy even as he becomes more arrogant and insufferable. Most people will find this kind of film as off-putting as the main character, but if you've spent any amount of time around creative people, you should enjoy this meditation on the rigorous emotional latitude assiduously cultivated by a certain type.

I’m grateful this movie exists so that from now on, whenever I meet somebody who relates to it, I’ll know to stay the hell away from them.

I enjoyed the narrator, but thats about it.

If you’re looking for a great portrait of a bored, miserable, narcissist, this is your film!