Perfectly adorable

good back-story, and good acting

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The pacing of this movie matches the story-line. You can feel it building to a crescendo...the ending is poignant. While Jack Nicholson's character is devolving, on a self-destructive course towards insanity, David Morse's character, on the other hand, is trying to rebuild his life. Guilt is eating both men alive from the inside.Angelica Houston's performance as the ex-wife is spot-on. When she finally opens up to Nicholson at the little cafe at midnite, he is no longer in a receptive mood. He's past the point of no return. The subject matter is heavy. How 2 people...both father and drunk driver...deal with their hate and guilt after the death of the daughter...is not a feel-good movie. But I think it's a subject that many of us have thought about...probably hoping and praying it would never happen to us.Many good performances here. David Morse is amazing as the reformed drunk driver...searching for his lost soul. Priscilla Barnes (from Three's Company) shows up as a stripper, and Nicholson's sometime girlfriend. She is very believable and it's a shame Hollywood typecast her as they did. One can tell from her performance here that she is capable of so much more.All-in-all, a very solid film. Not great, but definitely worth watching.

I have to take exception to what seems the be the majority view that this is an excellent film. The whole thing is contrived and phony. Throughout, there are innumerable points in the action where people do things and behave in ways completely contrary to what real people would do. The dialogue, too, is contrived. And one could have asked some more subtlety. As it is, it is clear from the get go that the vengeful father is the "bad" guy and the repentant killer is the "good" guy. Things are rarely so black and white. There is one scene further on in the film where Nicholson's character, in a conversation with his ex-wife, portrays some genuine grief and pain, but his portrayal up to that point completely belies that. And the many observations by viewers about the excessive and gratuitous nudity are on the mark. The completely contrived and unbelievable ending brings to mind Oscar Wilde's quote that "one would have to have a heart of stone not to dissolve into tears ...of laughter." Sean Penn should stick to his day job of acting and stay away from writing and directing.

"Too slow!" "So boring!" "Why the heck is it called 'The Crossing Guard?'" I wonder how many viewers of The Crossing Guard (TCG) said such things because they viewed the same DVD edition I watched. I read the back of the DVD box afterwards, and I had to laugh. It seems to have been produced by people who have no idea what the movie's about. The box's lurid, breathless text markets this as an "action thriller", and makes it sound like a "Death Wish" or "High Noon" revenge showdown! A featured photo shows Freddy swingin' the chair.Although TCG revolves around revenge, and a gun features prominently, you almost won't know it. TCG is what you'd call a "literate drama." The revenge Freddy plans to exact is the story's driving force, but the bulk of the plot is character study and psychological drama, its two feet very much on the ground.Unlike some literate dramas -- ponderous, pretentious attempts at art, with static filming to match -- TCG has the goods. It's a sensitive, curious examination of a difficult main character and real-life subject matter. Since TCG gets quite disturbing at times, not least of all because of its broken, volatile, oft-unlikable protagonist, watching can be a challenge, but nonetheless it's refreshing to watch a complicated drama that doesn't push saccharine messages or pretend to have easy answers. It simply lets its characters loose to find their own way through a rather open-ended plot, and never loses sight of their humanity even while it acknowledges their awful acts. Stick with TCG and it will prove to be a rewarding film with both a mind and heart.The literary genre's artsiness and realismo -- "true-to-life" folks who are quirky but not really funny, half-heard scraps of conversation -- create a few annoying bits in TCG, but not enough to damage the proceedings. Bobby's long speech at the survivor's support group reflects the reality of inarticulate people who can't speak from a polished script, but it doesn't do much for the film. You'll just have to chuckle through TCG's candle-strewn "artists' party," of which only 10% of the dialogue makes a lick of sense. I admit that the John-Jojo relationship and pectoral-clutching push credibility.A better literate aspect in TCG is its humor, a pleasant surprise, especially coming from a writer/director better known for being humorless. When Freddy, falling apart from his rage, suddenly accepts the crowd's plea to join Mia the stripper on stage for a pole dance, it's remarkable, tense black comedy. Even better is when Freddy goes home with Mia, who surprises him by performing (and supposedly composing) a song for Freddy on her synthesizer decked out with blinking lights. Freddy just sits and watches in a stupor; whether it's from his booze or the music show is uncertain. In a Hitchcockian touch, a violent chase by foot detours into a city bus, and the participants must deal with bus fares, mistakes about the stops, and bickering passengers.

this film was amazing.it's basically a story of loss,revenge,redemption and forgiveness.there are two main characters, for both of whom redemption and forgiveness seem impossible.both have suffered loss,but only one seeks revenge.the movie tells the story of how our main characters get to the point of redemption and forgiveness,and it's not how you'd think.at least it wasn't for me.Jack Nicholson puts in what i would call a career performance here,as does David Morse.Sean Penn wrote the script and directed the movie.he did a masterful job in both areas.it's emotionally very powerful,and i shed some tears in some scenes.the only downside i can think of for this film,is for me,there was a bit too much unnecessary nudity.i realise that there had to be some to give.us an idea of one of the main characters,but i think it went a bit overboard.still the rest of the movie is so well done,that i give it a 10/10