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Too much of everything

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Masterpiece!

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

If you read about a movie before you watch it, then you already have some idea of what it's about. So if you don't want to see what is basically a play, set outdoors, then don't watch this one. But if you do, and you're a thoughtful guy, you will probably love this one.I say "guy," because the main characters are guys, and the stuff they talk about is "guy stuff." Although, if you are a gal, and have a strong appreciation for a dialogue-based film, you may still enjoy it. A couple of female characters make brief appearances.In this play, the parks are the sets, and the seasons are the borders of each act. How often do you see a film about ordinary people, living ordinary lives? That trend was more common in the 70s.It takes genuine talent to make the ordinary interesting, and these writers, directors, and performers nail this one. I've been a city landscaper, working with a partner, and this is exactly what is was like. We worked, but we had great conversations throughout the day.Although I'm conservative, watching this one really made me wish I could be a public employee again, with no heavy supervision, no quotas, and no pressure. Top that off with working outdoors, and I would be in heaven.Since these guys didn't have to worry about the normal pressures of private sector work, or even the stultifying routine of working at the DMV, etc., they were able to spend their days musing about the meaning of life, while casually painting a fence or raking some leaves.Ned Beatty's character has figured out how to get through life without major hassles. He doesn't complain much, or sweat the little things. He has a little life and he knows it, but he seems to be o.k. with it, save one major regret regarding his son.The Liev Schriber character, being much younger, is a seeker. He's reading books and developing his philosophy of life. You get to watch him grow and mature during the course of a year, working alongside a father figure.The best scene in the film comes at the beginning and involves a brief appearance by little known actor Campbell Scott, the son of screen legend George C. Scott. He plays his character to such perfection in this brief scene, that it wets your appetite for the rest of the film.Watch it if you're a deep thinker and you don't mind a couple of minor Left Wing references, about Gays in the Scouts, and class warfare.

I loved the non-narrative style with self-contained scenes. It was refreshing to experience a non-narrative film since so much of Hollywood's product these days is narrative-driven. It was easy to follow what was happening without a linear story line. Too bad more films don't have the courage to go to black between scenes and start on a new tack.Also liked the sense of place. The locations were just beautiful and the compositions of the shots were skillfully done. I especially liked shots like the flashing light on top of the truck coming out of the snow bank. The sound track of birds, trains, and all the things that make time and places memorable to us was really enjoyable.

Spring Forward is the story of a friendship between two men who work together as lanscapers and maintenance men for a small city. Liev Schrieber is the well-read, ex-convict Paul who is trying to get back on his feet. Ned Beatty is Murph, a family man who's probably in his fifties. There's a generational gap, but the men seem to share quite an interesting friendship. The movie, however, is just so real that it becomes quite boring. The story takes us through the seasons and it is about 99% dialogue and 1% action if you consider landscaping work and the aftermath of a funeral action. The men engage in such deep conversation about all sorts of things like their different perspectives on religion, on morals, on sex, on fatherhood, and so forth. I don't think that it is totally uninteresting and I think it was material better suited to a novel than a film. Nothing really happens and the conversations, after awhile, seem endlessly strung together, as though the topics just change by chance, but the talking never stops. I really must say though, the cinemtagraphy was beautiful with such rich colors and all that. I'm surprised to see so many positive reviews, but then again, this might epitomized recent independent films as much as it can be, though (and I agree with one viewer who wrote this), the whole thing does seem rather pretentious. Sure, these guys have these deep thoughts on all of these abstract matters. But then what?That's not to say that Leiv Schreiber and Ned Beatty don't give good performances. The material and the story just become so boring after a while, by that final scene as they drive down the snowy roads, you think something just then might happen that somehow reflects upon the friendship. Only, nothing ever does. It was boring like I found 'Chelsea Hotel' to be boring, although this movie at least brings up some interesting philosophies that the characters mull over, whereas in 'Chelsea Hotel,' no one even gives us that much to consider and entertain us. I still think 'Spring Forward' would have been better material for a novel.

This movie I guess has its heart in the right place but it's not well written, and the actors enjoy acting in it too much. The performances are pretty self-conscious, but then the writing's so self-conscious. No scene is of any especial consequence, and some of them--the penultimate scene, for instance--are downright ridiculous, a frantic attempt at some last minute payoff. On the up side Ned Beatty has a lot of energy and seemed to do the role as best as it could be done. I guess it's my own fault for watching past the first scene, which loudly hints that the movie will be a road to nowhere. Even if it does have good intentions, it's pretty manipulative, and not even all that successfully.