Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Great Film overall

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Henry Whipple (Dennis Quaid) has it all, a loving family, a successful business, and a mistress (Heather Graham). He is an aggressive seed salesman and farmer. His oldest son would rather travel the world and his younger son Dean (Zac Efron) is cynical and doesn't want to be around his father. He wants to race cars and have a good time with his "feral" girlfriend (Maika Monroe).Henry doesn't always abide by the rules. Dean has anger management issues. Things come to a head as Henry has to choose to make things right or face dire consequences.The film is an okay drama, that perhaps plays out better in Iowa. The characters nicely evolved in the film, although they didn't grab me. Might make for a drama rental at a low price.Parental Guidance: F-bomb, sex, porno magazine nudity of a topless woman with a male organ at her mouth. Must be the strong graphic reference mentioned on rating.

I'm aware of criticisms people have of this movie. I even agree with some of them. And yet, I'm sure I'll remember it for a long time and I'll remember liking it a lot. Yes, it's melodramatic. Yes, it has 1 or 2 bits that are trashier than necessary. (Hey, I like a trashy bit now and then.) Are the characters likable? I think so but when did that become the No. 1 criterion for evaluating a drama? Disclosure: I'm originally from a few miles where this was actually filmed. I feel like I know this movie. The cast spans all ages and I find it especially gratifying to watch emerging stars, there are a couple of those in this. The film deals with serious subjects but it's not a message film. Makes you think but does not --would not-- tell you what to think. Contemporary midwestern noir. Click on the trailer and decide whether to watch the whole film. Many of you will wanna watch.

I really liked the first 50 or so minutes of this movie. It was an interesting character study with great commentary on the American dream.But this movie goes sour when Dean loses the race. He had talent and promise yet he threw it all away because of one loss. Out of nowhere, he cares about the farm even though just a day before he hated it and couldn't wait to be a race car driver. Also he's suddenly mad at his girlfriend. Why? No idea, it wasn't her fault he lost. From that point on it felt like a different movie and Dean felt like an entirely different character. The ending was awful too. I kept thinking it was building to something, maybe Dean confessing to the murder. But nope, he gets away with it. A great first half and amazing performances by Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron keep me from completely hating it, but overall I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

Sometimes, a movie character's stress is so all-encompassing and so consuming in his or her world that you begin to feel it in your own world, regardless of whether or not you've experience what they're going through. Director Ramin Bahrani, if nothing else, articulates internal conflicts and mental pressure beautifully in his latest offering At Any Price, a landmark in his film career as it is the most mainstream release a film of his has gotten and I'm sure numerous people still haven't heard about it.This is my introduction to Bahrani's work as a feature film director. His short film, simply titled "Paper Bag," was, hear me out, a twenty minute long film focusing on a listless paper bag that would travel by the way of the wind and would encounter numerous animals and obstacles along the way. The short was narrated by iconic actor and director Werner Herzog and possessed such an absurdist beauty about it that was equal parts whimsical and heartwarming. I couldn't recommend it enough.The film stars Dennis Quaid as Henry Whipple, owner of more than 3,000 acres of farmland in Iowa and the proud inheritor of Liberty Seeds, a company that sells and utilizes genetically-modified seeds. Henry hopes one day he'll be able to pass on the farm to his young son, like his dad did to him. However, his son Dean (Zac Efron) shows no interest in inheriting the farm, and sets his sights on being a race-car driver, competing in local events statewide in order to obtain money to perhaps make it that far. He is given encouragement by Cadence (Maika Monroe), his sort-of girlfriend, even though he begins to write her off as his aspirations begin to seemingly evolve into something. In need of help, with competition in the contemporary agriculture world increasing and the possibility of a scandal on Liberty Seeds becoming others' knowledge, Henry takes Cadence underneath his wing as an intern and introduces her to the world, while simultaneously trying to combat it.It's clear that Bahrani didn't just want to use Iowa farmlands as a backdrop for his story. Him and co-writer Hallie Elizabeth Newton admirably immerse themselves into the culture of competitive agriculture, and show audiences through board-meetings, shady deals, and family dialog just how stressful of an environment this is. But what At Any Price's ultimate goal is lies on how it portrays the search for values and morality when money and company-placement is what it all boils down to. This isn't a tiresome trudge through morality in terms of how each right and wrong is rewarded, but rather it's about the choices we make and how we want to be seen by others. Henry seems like he once started out as an honest, moral man of his word, but now, he possesses the transparency, the attitude, and the fake smile akin to that of a politician. His son Dean is lost in the idea of trying to find himself when his father is not showing the characteristics of a role model or a caring member of his family. He worries about position and what the public thinks they know about him. This leads Dean to do things in the film he will later regret, if he chooses to reconnect with the path of kinder humanism.A story like this is only levied by performances, and thankfully the likes of Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron offer remarkably maturing ones. Quaid is an actor somewhat like Nicolas Cage and Robert De Niro in the way he chooses sometimes completely asinine film roles that clearly do not challenge him in ways we love to seem him challenged. But every so often, Quaid - like Cage and De Niro - will choose an offbeat film role and knock it out of the park. Scarcely has stress on a film character been so evident and relatable and this is thanks to a performance of remarkable quality by Quaid. Efron, as well, after hanging in the teen-girl crowd for a bit too long with films like High School Musical, 17 Again, and Charlie St. Cloud that, while maybe fun on an escapist level, do not give him the appropriate amount of human leverage he deserves. In At Any Price, he evokes a much more mature persona than we've seen him, and if he can't tolerate the lack of limelight and publicity a film like this brings, I see no reason why he wouldn't continue to do films like these.This is one the heaviest character-pieces I've come across this year. Not a lot happens in the film, but what does is subtle and strong in terms of furthering an encompassing theme. The film could be mistaken for sending mixed signals due to its unfocused nature, be a bit impulsive with some plot-strands not developing enough, and be criticized as too methodical because of several scenes relying on time passing and location. I agree with all of these points on some level, but feel the large majority of criticism has missed the mark because it doesn't give the film credit for attempting to articulate something that is greatly becoming grayer and grayer and that is what we, as humans, value in life. We like to think of ourselves as kind, gentle people, but when several outlets bombard us with dehumanizing stereotypes, images of pure cruelty, and the degradation of a moral compass and an increase in narcissistic, arrogant importance - especially in American culture - it's becoming a bit disconcerting in how nihilistic and careless we have become as a whole. At Any Price tries to magnify this concern, but on a much smaller scale, and remarkably succeeds in some very difficult aspects - especially considering it features a story that can easily be written off as noneventful.