Meet Bill

Meet Bill is the story of Bill (played by Aaron Eckhart), a man who is quickly realizing that his wife, weight, job and life are all out of control. His wife is cheating, his stomach is growing, his job is pointless, and he wants more out of life than what he has.

During a random encounter, Bill meets high school student known only as The Kid (played by Logan Lerman), and it is here that the story takes off.

Meet Bill starts off with a bang. We are instantly pulled into the life of Bill, can sympathize with him, and want the best for him. The movie shows great potential for the first 45 minutes as we meet the other cast of characters in Bill's life. We can sympathize with Bill, and ultimately feel good about cheering him on.

But then, somewhere halfway through this film, it unravels. Scenes start to feel pointless. The story meanders, and feels like the writers knew where it would take off, but not how it should land. The pacing becomes a slow, dull crawl. And at the end of the movie, in the last five minutes,
Bill completely falls out of character and decides to shirk everything the movie has built up to, and become a wandering nomad.

The actors do an amazing job with what they are given to work with, and I cannot fault any of them. Each actor threads the film together with great depth. Unfortunately the script doesn't give them much to hold together.

And ultimately, I felt empty as the credits rolled.

In `Meet Bill' Aaron Eckhart once again expands his career repertoire with a role we're accustomed to seeing Steve Carell play. As partial as I am to both actors, it's refreshing to see him play the fumbling underdog, closer to Carell's performance in `Dan in Real Life'. Too bad this sitcom worthy movie has little else to commend it. There are original, quirky elements, but the screwball execution is spotty for laughs and disjointed in parts.

Bill is in a middle-aged rut. Dependent on his wife Jess (Elizabeth Banks), he works as head of human relations at his father-in-law's bank. Jess looks healthy. She wears workout apparel and continually tries to prod Bill to adhere to his doctor's diet, one that eschews his coveted donut fix. At work he is like a dog on a leash. Not thrilled to begin with working under his father-in-law, Bill hates it when he's proposed to join their mentor program. He meets "the kid" (Logan Lerman) he's supposed to mentor in the bathroom, where Bill helps him hide the marijuana he flushes down the toilet before his school liaison catches him. Next, not only does he have to mentor "the kid," he has to go duck hunting with his in-laws and their sponsored teens. Being an animal lover, he becomes an awful shot, but provides some of the best laughs of the movie.

Getting chubby, the hubby suspects Jess is having an affair. Planting a camera beneath a translucent hat, he catches her in adultery with a local news reporter, Chip Johnson (Timothy Olyphant). Things go from bad to worse as Bill goes after Chip and the media gets a hold of the infidelity caught on tape. With nowhere to live, Bill turns to his gay brother, Sargeant (Craig Bierko*), a sporting goods store owner, and his partner Paul (Reed Diamond) to stay. A fitness buff, Paul tries to turn Bill's life around.

Bill wants to stay in his marriage while getting out of the bank. Jess hates the surveillance and doesn't say it, but Bill's slob appearance is indicative of his care for her as well. Forming a friendship "the kid" warms up to Bill before he can reciprocate. His friend and love interest, Lucy (Jessica Alba) seems much more mature than he, but she is a great resource for Bill. Both of them take an interest in getting Bill and Jess back together.

Although I don't condone illegal drug use, I have to admit it's a clever twist to have the mentor corrupted by his young apprentice. Eckhart plays a stoner scene like a pro as he and "the kid" go rock climbing in his brother's sports' store, easily one of the funniest scenes in the movie.

For all the oddball factors, 'Meet Bill' won't ruin your evening, but it won't provide the most compelling comedy, either.

(If 'Meet Bill' and 'The Forty Year Old Virgin' are any indication, most women don't favor men's body hair. So much for the old days when a hairy chest seemed to be coveted.)

A J.P.'s Pan 2.5 *'s= Mediocre-Good/Decent

(*uncredited according to IMDb)

Aaron Eckhart has been one of my favorite actors for years, he continually flies under the mainstream radar but makes every movie he is in, believable.

The first time directors (Bernie/Melissa) tackled a familiar topic in the mid-life crisis film, but since they had AE to carry it, everything came across beautifully. AE plays our married man Bill, as he unhappily fills an undeserved in-law position at a bank. His wife is played by Liz Banks, who I love from Scrubs, that helps lead an amazing supporting cast, including Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood), Jessica Alba, and Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma).

The story centers on Bill going through the motions of discovering marital infidelity, becoming a mentor for a smarter than his age school kid, while coming to terms with finding himself through some unorthodox avenues. Jessica Alba finally found a role that she was obviously relaxed with. Her entire presence was believable and she didn't have to wear a swimsuit, a tight blue suit or act scared - to do it. She does not play the love-interest as advertised, she just fills a role of helping out a new friend. I hope she does more films like this. Tim Olyphant has proven himself repeatedly, and I think even these slightly corny roles don't diminish his ability to be the hated character, yet still fun to watch.

This film will not appeal to the teens or older crowds, but probably along the same customer lines as Thank You for Smoking, another great Eckhart film. Good for a low-key movie night for that guy that might be in that similar "mid-life" stage. The laugh out loud moments and open ending make for a believable self-discovery film.

On this DVD release - the deleted scenes were all they included. No other ANYTHING to speak of, except for lots of additional First Look Studio previews, was disappointed on that.

The movie "Meet Bill" starts off slow and you might be thinking "why am I watching this?" If you just stick with it you won't be disappointed. It seemed like a predictable comedy/drama but the performances of the actors and actresses in this film make the story memorable and very enjoyable to watch. The first half of the movie is a bit boring and predictable but the second half makes up for it and becomes very entertaining. I think the boring beginning was actually essential to Bill's story anyway. I definitely recommend watching this movie. It made me laugh out loud at the end :)

I would also like to add that this movie lists Amanda Peet as being in the movie but she was not.

I gave this a single star. My sweetheart said she liked it and would have given it three stars. The scrip seems more or less written to TV sitcom level, i.e. fairly low. On TV it would blend in nicely with the general level of sitcom nonsense.

The major character, Bill, is a loser, and there is no reason to think that he would have ever been married into a successful family with a pretty wife. However Bill does have the insight that he is a loser and makes some effort to reform himself, but at the end of the movie when he decides to quit his marriage, quit his job, quit/ abandon his plans to run a donut shop to give him some income and self-respect, he seems headed to a even worse future since he wouldn't even be up to fast food employee standards.

A confession: I looked at this movie exclusively because of Jessica Alba's presence in it as eye candy. Jessica was fresh and alluring as always, and had the good sense not to let her character be exploited such as to lose her dignity.

Otherwise, this is a throughly forgetable film.

***1/2

Bill is in the midst of a full-blown midlife crisis. Not only is he stuck in a job he hates (a made-up position at his father-in-law's bank), but his wife is cheating on him with a local news reporter. Meanwhile, his potbelly seems to be expanding at an increasingly alarming rate, a condition brought on by the massive quantities of donuts and candy bars he consumes daily out of nervousness and force of habit. Bill can't seem to step out of the shadows of either his wife's dad or the brother whom everyone seems to think is brighter, more financially successful and more all-around "together" than Bill is. In fact, the one hope Bill has of turning his life around may well rest with an Alex Keating-type prep school student he`s agreed to mentor as part of a program for entrepreneurial teens.

Written and directed by Bernie Goldman and Melisa Walick, "Meet Bill" ranges from the hilarious to the mildly amusing - with just enough dull patches thrown in to keep us from raving too much over its virtues or letting it too much into our hearts. The screenplay is frequently sharp in its comic portrayal of middle-aged angst, but it also feels vaguely rudderless, undernourished and underdeveloped for much of the time.

The real joy of the film lies in Aaron Eckhart's star turn as a man whose career and personal relationships clearly aren't what he'd hoped they'd be at this particular point in his life. He's nicely supported by Elizabeth Banks as his philandering wife; Logan Lerman as his preppie protégé; Jessica Alba as a lingerie salesgirl; Reed Diamond as his overly competitive gay brother-in-law; and SNL stars Kristen Wiig and Jason Sudeikis as donut-shop franchise owners who hope to go into business with Bill.

And speaking of the entrepreneurial spirit, a veritable goldmine awaits anyone savvy enough to market that amazing belly-busting weight-loss program Bill uses to great effect towards the end of the film.

When I first watched Meet Bill, I had my reservations about the film, because I had never heard of it through friends, family, advertising, etc.

I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the movie through, and have now seen it several times because I liked it so much.

Aaron Eckhart plays, basically, a very accurate depiction of a disgruntled male: his marriage is going down the tubes, he hates his job, has no idea how to have fun, and has no idea where he wants to be in life, yet knows he wants something more, something better. Throughout the movie, we learn about the tough situations in his life and how he deals with them (i.e. cheating wife, in-laws that only care about themselves), and feel badly for him, because his life just sucks.

Then, our main character undergoes a sort of personality transformation: he stands up for himself, finally, and acts out against the man that his wife is cheating with, gets himself involved in a program to assist high school students with banking and during this, meets an outgoing student that helps him come out of his shell and learn how to have fun and not take any trash from anybody. Along the way, Eckhart continuously does a great job of acting the role of a nice guy that realizes it is time he put himself first, for the first time in his life, and go out to get what makes him happy. Plenty of drama and chaos ensues, all of which is very realistic and does not ever feel overblown or too coincidental to actually happen to a real person.

The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Alba, both of whom perform well for the roles they were given. I have to say that this movie has quickly made its way into my Top 10, and this movie is definitely worth the money.

Meet Bill

I'd never heard of this movie and I bought it just because it has Aaron Eckhart in it. I was very pleasantly surprised. How many of you (like me) have looked into the mirror one day and thought, "What happened to me? This isn't me!" That's what happens to poor Bill. Unlike a lot of us, though, Bill takes steps to return to the old Bill. It's a very heartwarming story and I highly recommend "Meet Bill."

Bill (Aaron Eckhart) hates his life and is stuck in a self loathing state he can't get out of until he meets a young kid who reintroduces him to life and reinvigorates him. It is a story we have already seen and heard a million times but the cast really makes this one worth watching. His wife (Elizabeth Banks) is a daddy's girl who is sleeping with the local newsman (Timothy Olyphant). Bill knows this but is helpless to do anything since his wife is responsible for everything in his life including his job and all his assets. He dreams of opening his own donut franchise but can't find any backing either from his father in law or his unsupportive wife. While at a local school where his father in law has just made a sizeable donation he meets a young kid that he eventually mentors. It is the kid who ends up teaching him a few things along the way. One of the first things he teaches Bill is that he needs to find a new chick to make the old one jealous. Bill doesn't know anyone so the kid provides the babe a lingerie saleswoman (Jessica Alba) that the kid has a crush on. She doesn't think Bill can be helped but plays along since she is being paid. After a few stints in jail for beating the newsman Bill is kicked out of his house and forced to live with his brother whose shadow Bill has been living under for years. Everyone loves his brother but few know that he is gay. It is his partner along with the kid that try and get Bill to start caring about himself again by getting him to work out and change his look and wardrobe. They all conspire to help him open his donut franchise and get his wife back. Alba poses as his wife in order to appear more legit to the heads of the donut franchise (SNL's Kristin Wiig and Jason Sudeikis) and as that dream starts to become a reality other things fall into place for Bill. His wife seems willing to give him a second chance but grows jealous when she sees him with the sexy younger girl. Sure it is predictable and unoriginal but it's funny and sweet. The cast is exceptional with Eckhart nailing the role of the self loathing and sarcastic Bill and Banks is fantastic as the ditzy blonde wife who is sleeping with the newsman because she is embarrassed by Bill and his simple life. Alba is a no brainer as the sexy new girl and is pretty good in her role. It was a film that was in and out of theaters quickly but is pretty entertaining on DVD for fans of any of the three leads.

This is a terrible script with a wonderful performance by Aaron Eckhart. Not surprisingly, the movie was never released beyond it's original run in 28 theatres -- 4 of which were in the two cities where the film was made (Minneapolis and St. Louis).

The story is absolutely nonsensical -- a middle aged man with an identity crisis "mentors" a drug-using teen who ends up "mentoring" him. It makes no sense in any way, and the people in this movie would never really even come into contact with each other, let alone talk to each other and interact. Continuity problems abound - hair on Eckhart's chest for example, in a scene right after where he has shaved it off -- a "crucial" scene in the movie, according to the script...and location problems -- are we in Missouri? Are we in Minneapolis? At one point, they are invited "up" to Madison -- which is South East of Minnesotta -- at another time, there is a clear reference to Ferndale and they gay couple living there -- which is a reference to Detroit.

Through it all, Aaron suffers no end of embarassing acting situations, and he must have gotten a pretty good paycheck for this Project Greenlight film. Both Banks and Alba were not the original choices for their roles, and points to the problems the producers had in even securing cast who were willing to perform in this film. Lindsey Lohan and Amanda Peat were the original choices -- and would have at least been consistent in age with the script's intentions....Alba is clearly 10 years too old for her role. Reed Diamond turns in another solid, though unremarkable, performance as the brother's gay lover.

Craig Bierko has a small uncredited role as Bill's gay brother. Look for other uncredited cameos by a host of other actors. While the uncredited roles are often the landmark of small indi films like this one to avoid labor contract problems when donating time, in this case, they are probably the better for it.

For Aaron Eckhart fans only.