2 Guys 1 Couch

Even though a lot of people have never actually seen “True Grit”, most people I speak with know the plot. For those of you that just showed up the party: Mattie Ross is a precocious 14 year old girl who is dealing with the murder of her father at the hand of his hired man, Tom Chaney. She leaves her family and sets out to capture him, enlisting the help of U.S. Marshall Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn as he is said to be the toughest, the one with “true grit” (get it?). Together they set out into Indian territory in pursuit of Chaney, joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf who wants him captured for his own reasons. The motley crew finds peril, danger and surprise on their journey, testing their…”true grit” ( I did it again!)

Now that we have the story out of the way you can proceed to pop the DVD in the player and feel free to complete any household chores while this plays in the background. It’s not that the film is boring, it’s really not, it’s just that it never really pulls you in. Everything looks authentic and genuine, immersing you in the wild west emotion of the time. You truly feel like everything is an adventure, everything that is, except for the actual plot. Back in 1969 movies were limited in the ways they were presented. The multi-million dollar budgets and CGI that has become the norm for our film experience were not available to directors of that time. Because of that, it was the stories and acting that needed to reel in viewers, and if you watch a few you’ll begin to notice both were a little on the dramatic side, much like a theatrical production. It’s for that reason that this movie was doomed from the start: The story is just so damn stale. Person's loved one is murdered yada yada antagonist becomes protagonist blah blah life changing lesson learned and roll credits. The biggest draw is supposed to be the characters themselves. You’re meant to connect with the characters, however you can’t relate to them because they just seem so inhuman and that’s why it doesn’t matter if you vacuum while watching this movie. The Coen brothers continue to be depressingly vague and why invest in a film that doesn’t invest in you?

With that being said, it’s a shame that the story is so bad because the acting is so good. Jeff Bridges does an excellent job of playing the washed up shell-of-a-man Cogburn. He finds the perfect symmetry of sloth and wisdom continually playing the hero and villain throughout. Matt Damon, who plays cocky Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, also does a bang up job in this one, conveying an anything but quiet confidence that makes you hate to love him. The real show stealer in this one though is relative newcomer Hailee Steinfeld who plays the well written character Mattie Ross. You can’t help feel for the girl who, at every moment of the movie, has her eyes, heart and intentions squarely focused on catching her father’s murderer. However, you also can’t pity someone with such determination and moxie. Steinfield outshines some of today’s biggest names and leaves us excited to see what comes next from this rising star.

In conclusion, watch this movie because it’s on USA while you’re folding laundry, not because you’re looking for an engaging film.

3 out of 5 stars