Now, I am someone who loves Old Hollywood, and any movie that honors Old Hollywood is bound to earn some points for me. This movie also has charming dialogue and a somewhat interesting story.

Unfortunately, that’s where the praise for Trumbo ends.

Now, I don’t know if director Jay Roach has done any theatre work, but he is mostly known for directing comedies, particularly the Austin Powers movies. So I’m not sure why he thought he could make an Oscar-bait movie like this, but he doesn’t pull it off.

I heard a reviewer say that the film primarily consisted of stage acting. Having watched the movie, I would definitely have to agree. With the exception of Elle Fanning, (who’s getting closer to an Oscar nomination with every film she does) the cast all seem to be acting like they’re on stage.

In a play, Cranston’s performance would be considered great. But in a film, he seems to be overdoing it a lot. Like he’s playing to the back row that isn’t there. And it’s crazy that Helen Mirren almost got nominated for a performance where she hardly does anything.

In all honestly, this film feels like a made for TV movie without a lot of effort put into it. Nothing about this movie makes it worth watching, but to be fair, it’s not like the film does anything really wrong. If you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll probably like it just fine. But there’s nothing in this movie that you haven’t seen before.

***

(By the way, Grease: Live was pretty awesome.)