8/13/25

Ok I’m going to be honest, I’m going to be a little bit critical about this movie, but don’t let this stop you from watching it

I’d also like to note that I wrote this up a long time after my first initial watch of the movie, so I’ll recount what I can remember

After you read all of this you probably think that I don’t really like this movie, but in truth I had fun watching it!! Not that I hate the movie or anything but I have mixed feelings about it - the following sentiments are much more of nitpicks than anything

It was a very interesting and dramatic watch for me, but it naturally had its nuances. I really feel like it kind of shades Dean with its portrayal of him - I felt a bit of bias in it. I think Jeremy Northam played him pretty well, but the way the movie played out situations like Dean’s desertion of Betty and his general adultery kind of makes him out in a way that’s more disreputable than it should have. It really feeds towards the more insouciant, playboy public perception of Dean rather than how his personal life actually was. It displayed the two’s bad and good traits, but not in an equal manner. It does display Jerry’s insecurity, ego, temperament, and harsh side pretty well. However, the movie was kind of obviously leaning towards Jerry, as it set up a lot of scenes of sympathy for him from the beginning to end, and the scenes with his negative aspects can’t seem to weigh it out. I wouldn’t say it’s completely one-sided, but it really seems like it sets itself up to be that way. I would say that it just isn’t thorough enough and doesn’t set up the story impartially.

I really enjoyed parts in the very first sections of the movie - notably the one where Jerry notices Dean in front of the Havana-Madrid Club. It really holds true to how Jerry’s first impression of him really was. Some other scenes I liked were the hospital scene (underneath all the conundrum still lied some sort of affection between them, which I think was just a tad downplayed in the film) and the one where Jerry cries in Patti’s arms in the midst of the breakup. It managed to make me cry at the end, but to be honest, anything centered around or even implicative of their break up makes me tear up.

To sum, it’s a superficial take on how their story went, but entertaining to say the least. Of course, it’s supposed to be a condensed movie, but it kind of skimmed over a lot of things (but that’s probably just me being fussy). I didn’t expect it to be perfect, but I just feel like it didn't do justice for either of them in hindsight - especially Dean. Jerry’s autobiographical book about their relationship was released in 2005, and it is a far better and accurate representation of both of them. If you want to understand the two in an authentic way, I highly recommend consulting it instead of using the movie for reference.

Other:
ㆍEven though I knew the breakup was coming, the movie still made me shocked when it came to the breakup and it also made me very sad at the end
ㆍI think Sean Hayes and Jeremy Northam played the duo nicely
ㆍI have not looked into reading Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime (Especially Himself) by Arthur Marx (the biography the film was adapted from), but I might get a hold of it someday