The Great Gatsby 2013

The Great Gatsby ~ Every time I think of this Baz Luhrman flick, I can't help thinking about the "Entourage" fictional version Gatsby. Maybe if I keep thinking that, I can also manifest another fake movie from the show, Aquaman, 'cause that one I really want to see.

At first, I wasn't so sure I wanted to see this new version of Gatsby. I remember vaguely reading it as a teenager, and then being made to read it in college. I remember watching a TV version as an ABC movie of the week back in the seventies and being bored to tears.

The Great Gatsby is a lot of tell vs. show, along with subtext and metaphor that if you don't get, your English teacher or professor will have a seizure. It's also full of unlikable characters. It serves its purpose, like say Catcher in the Rye, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Then there's the problem of the director. Baz Luhrman, for me, is a creator of extremes. I think his Romeo + Juliet is a work of brilliance, yet his critically acclaimed Moulin Rouge! revels in the mud of my bottom five. I hated it. And because of it, I approach any further Luhrman work with contempt, derision, and caution. The Great Gatsby, seemingly in a similar vein to those two previously mentioned films, is definitely no exception.

I did not hate this version of Gatsby, but I didn't love it either. It falls somewhere around my impression of the 1970s one, less than impressed, and bored. The leads are strong and perfect had this been in hands of any other director. Luhrman resorts to camera tricks, fast motion, modern music, and even 3-D trickery, and all any of it does is sour and dilute the classic story. Don't waste your time, unless you're a fan or morbidly curious.