Needless to say this
approach proves equally fruitless, and by the seven minute mark of the film
Waitt is resorting to asking strangers in the street what they think it
is that makes women want to reject him, a painful and pointless
exercise that hardly comprises the most promising start to a 90-minute
feature documentary.
Nothing
if not inventive, however, Waitt eventually manages to convince one of
his exes to talk on camera by enlisting the aid of his mother.
Waitt
is hardly the most dynamic interviewer, and at any rate it turns out he
and the woman in question ‘dated’ for about five minutes at the age of
eleven. But this audacious ploy repeatedly works, and the number
of begrudging participants gradually increases.
The premise is undoubtedly a promising one, if a little derivative of High Fidelity
and similar films, though Waitt’s motives for undertaking the project
appear a little cynical and self-serving. None of his ex-girlfriends
are pleased to see him, and when they question him as to why he acted
like a jerk in the past he clams up and looks as though he’d like to
disappear between the floorboards.
He is also mopey,
slovenly, unsuccessful and self-absorbed – hardly the sort of fellow
who has to look far for reasons women wouldn’t want to be with him.
That
being said, the film isn’t without its enjoyable moments. One of the
funniest exchanges occurs early on between Waitt and a representative
of the film company responsible for financing the project. "I’m taking a guerrilla approach" whines Waitt in defence of his initially aimless footage.
"A fucking gorilla would do a better job" retorts the rep, before castigating Waitt for being a "scruffy twat"
and insinuating that he’s probably a closet homosexual. The most
cringe-worthy moment comes when Waitt decides to investigate his
recurrent erection difficulties by enquiring of a bemused ex "Why do you think I have this problem with my penis?".
It’s
such an unexpected and absurd question for him to ask at that point
that you can’t help but laugh. There’s also a brilliant scene
where he tries to confront his dysfunction by taking a Viagra.
Frustrated at its lack of effect, he proceeds to swallow five
more. A short while later he’s on the phone to poison control: "I’ve got an erection, I’ve got a f**king erection!".
Ultimately
however these moments are few and far between, and the lovelorn
director is simply not likeable or charismatic enough to pull off such
a project. At times he mumbles so as to be nearly inaudible, and seems
determined to fuck up his film in the same manner he’s sabotaged each
of his relationships, as he sleeps in, misses interviews and asks
unnecessary and offensive questions.
One of the women
interviewed responds to his perpetual query of why she dumped him with
the succinct and self-explanatory ‘Because you got drunk and pushed my
mother up against a wall and kissed her.’ Another appears almost
heartbroken as she reads the love letters to which Waitt never bothered
to reply. He responds by asking her out to dinner, an offer which
she rejects.
At the film’s conclusion the question most likely
to be asked by viewers is not why each of these women broke up with the
hapless Waitt, but how he managed to convince them to date him in the
first place. Although the film’s surprising conclusion proves
satisfying and even borders on heartwarming, so who knows?
Perhaps there’s hope for the scruffy twat yet. DVD Special Features
Quite a treaure trove on offer in this regard, from deleted scenes to two additional short films courtesy of Waitt.
Also included are an interview with the filmmaker, trailers and a tastefully entitled singalong "I’d Like to F**k Every Girl in the World".
Conclusion:
Movie 60% Extras: 70%
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