How Could You Do This To Us?
How Could You Do This To Us? Staggeringly idiotic, I can’t fathom the good reviews this film is receiving – anymore than I can fathom how they approved the “twist” ending. It was something that I’d expect to see out of M. Night Shyamalan’s reject pile.
I love Jordan Peele, but this film was awful. Terrible directing, awkward pacing that was slow to the point of boredom, and laughable acting. When the “tethered” villain started speaking her choked and gasping voice, I started laughing. It was comical. The comedic timing, as a whole was all over the place. There was little that made sense: funny scenes were rendered flat and tense scenes were interrupted by bizarre, unexpected comedic moments.
I appreciated some of the natural dialogue between the characters that could act, but it was still ill-suited. It was also nice to see both Tim Heidecker and Elizabeth Moss, but both of their talents were wasted.
None of the scenes contributed in ways they should, often dragging on for far longer than my attention would hold – and buttoned up with pieces of information that was shown in a form that didn’t depend on the scene context. For example, as the family is driving to the beach in Santa Cruz, nothing happens.
The scene contributes nothing to the main character, and certainly nothing to the overall film, and then they throw in a random flashback she has. If you removed the scene, it wouldn’t impact the film in the slightest; it was merely transitional.
How Could You Do This To Us? The ending…. I’m not even going to bother explaining it, but I will say this: what you think the ending is going to be is stupid. One character goes on a rant explaining the entire film that you didn’t actually see, and it’s supremely moronic. But it doesn’t stop there. No, sadly there’s a twist that essentially invalidates the entire film you just watched. It removes all motivation from the character.
It conflicts with the very essence of the story, and it serves the opposite intended purpose. How Could You Do This To Us? It’s a mistake so egregious, that I’m actually insulted Peele would think I’m so fucking dumb (or amnesic). It’s terrible. As bad as the fake, setup ending is, I wish they had left it there. Sure, you’d feel short-changed, but it would make more sense than what they did. If you want me to share what happens, I will, but I’m gonna need a drink…or several.