What Goes Up

There were a lot of very negative reviews of this film. Here are some of the positive ones you may have missed:

"A 2009 Sleeper. A complete original and definitely not your typical teen comedy. It's a darkly funny, wonderfully twisted story that marches to its own surprising beat. The entire cast is superb!"

• Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

"A wonderful little film!"

• Jeffery Lyons, NBC

"A nifty little tragicomedy. Director and co-writer Jonathan Glatzer handles his talented cast well, and the movie is dark, droll and sentimental in roughly the correct proportions."

• Andrew O'Hehir, Salon

"Glatzer and (co-writer) Lawson show a deep understanding of how common ideals can hold even a community of outsiders together. And it has a one-of-a-kind character in Coogan, a cynic with a savior complex, who lies partly out of convenience, and partly because he knows – as Glatzer and Lawson know – that even a messy story can still inspire."

• Noel Murray, The AV Club / The Onion

"The wit is sharp and the performances are amazing. Hilary Duff will definitely get more and more 'real' acting roles thanks to this. And Molly Shannon has rarely been more manic and hilarious… If you like your comedies pitch black… you will enjoy this dark little jewel."

• Alex Dorn, UGO.com

It's wonderful because it's so true to life. It's exactly what WHAT GOES UP strives to be – a funny movie about death, a sad movie about life… It works. Olivia Thirlby exceeds all expectations lending her performance a gutsy rawness…"

• Kate Erbland, Gordon and the Whale

"The performances were incredible. I was blown away by them."

• Ted Ott, Real Talk LA

"The film is touching, truthful, and, more importantly, an absolute blast to watch, thanks in part to smart performances from Coogan, Molly Shannon, and Hilary Duff in a role that might rub some of her loyal fans the wrong way. What Goes Up is about the lies we tell and the truths we keep hidden deep inside, a theme I'm sure most of us can relate to on one level or another. Thoroughly impressive stuff." – The Film Fiend

I really thought this film was made with an honesty few teen centered films usually possess. Intriguing performances and slightly surreal situations make the film well worth the watch. Coogan is delightfully flawed and the surrounding cast truly resonates. Although I was prepared to be distracted by Hilary Duff, I thought she shined brightly and held her own quite well. The truth is that most filmmakers when tackling tougher issues as ones presented in What Goes Up tend to talk down and diminish their audience while the makers of this film seem undaunted by the regular Hollywood mission of going for cheap humor and glamorized sexuality. There is a gravity here that hangs like a thick cloud over this cast and I suspect this movie will be looked upon later as having more layers than it would initially seem.

worked on it, great talent, great script, great crew. i wish that there wasn't as much ego involved with this project! it had so much potential and I have to say that steve coogan, josh peck and molly shannon were out of this world! what a pleasure. some of the local talent were fantastic as well. our two favourite misfits "the girls" you know who you are, were wonderfully quirky and adorable to say the least.

production was a nightmare.

local crew were treated as second class.

what is with the director not thanking the local crew?

not so nice my fine flying friend.

"What Goes Up" tells the story of Campbell Babbitt, an emotionally damaged journalist from NYC who goes to Concord (NH) to cover the hometown hooplah for the Space Shuttle Challenger launch. After having found out about an old friend of his' apparently suicide he becomes entangled in the petty businesses of his late friend's student and tries to uncover the truth of his death.

Or at least this is the most probable synopsis, 'cuz the movie ain't discernible at all. It aims to be profound and leave a certain message, but still, it's really convoluted & unclear. The cast has some potential and big names (Hilary Duff, Steve Coogan, Josh Peck etc.) but no one of them seems to be at easy with the script and what they have to do.

The movie certainly has some interesting scenes, but near the end it delivers the most outrageous scene you can shoot at least from my point of view, something really abhorrent! It gives me an ante-litteram Euphoria vibe at times throughout its entire length, something that I really despise.

The only positive thing I found out about it it's the fact that Hilary & Josh have become great friends years after the shooting & releasing of this film and both still cannot make sense of what this movie should be.

Maybe in the future I'll be able to re-evaluate "What Goes Up" but for now my vote is negative!

I was privileged enough to see this film with one of the producers tonight in Las Vegas. I went with some trepidation as I had heard from my DIL, who's the producer's niece, that while she thought the first cut was good, it had some issues. And unfortunately, I am very critical when it comes to movies due to my writing background.

I have to say I was truly amazed at the quirkiness and depth of this story. Yes, it did have some issues. There were places where I would have liked to have more in-depth characterization, there were places I thought the pacing was slow. The acting was good and dead on with what characters had on their plates. And in all honesty, this is the type of movie that comes out of the blue and ends up a cult favorite. It is that good in some strange way.

Maybe part of this is because I can remember this week so well myself. I was just out of college and worked for Lockheed. We were on top of the world and it just came crashing down on us all that Thursday morning. I can't imagine having the whole week being that bad. LOL!

Then again, maybe it's the part about being adult enough to understand when you've done something wrong yet there is no way to ever take it back. I remember this lesson well.

Or maybe, it's just that the misfits are so true to life that I can empathize with what is going on in their lives. I know that I would have been devastated if my favorite teacher had died during my high school years no matter what the cause.

Still, it would have been worse if said teacher had committed suicide. I was angsty enough then to have wondered if it were my fault in any way at all.

Adding all these elements up, you have one heck of a story that can appeal to the masses. I have to say, I liked it.