Syrup
Syrup
R | 07 June 2013 (USA)
Syrup Trailers

A slacker hatches a million-dollar idea. But, in order to see it through, he has to learn to trust his attractive corporate counterpart. Based on Max Barry's novel.

Reviews
PlatinumRead Just so...so bad
Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
sbra19 I haven't read the book, but reading the comments it would appear as though its fairly different so I don't think this matters much as far as a review of the film is concerned.The main thing that distracted me through the whole movie was the casting of Shiloh Fernandez as Scat, other than maybe having the look of a sleazy marketer, he seemed massively out of place as a male lead. I didn't think there was any chemistry between him and Amber Heard at all, any attraction between the two seemed totally implausible. He'd probably be fine in a supporting role, but not as a lead. I was wondering the whole time if his father financed the movie or something to get him the role.Other than that the movie was OK, it did seem to be trying to hard to be cool and edgy and didn't really pull it off. Sure it had a tiny budget, but if anything doing things on a shoe string should make a movie more cool and edgy, but it wasn't at all. Everything that was meant to be cool seemed forced and cliché.On the positive side, I thought Amber Heard was great as 6, as was her character. I can see why the ending left a few unhappy, but I think it was better to do what they did than just some by the numbers rom-com ending.
zif ofoz An odd take on the image we present ourselves as and how product is brought to our attention. Surface tension has no strength to remain the same.Everything isn't what it seems to be or is everything exactly as it is? Either way all things change in an instant. Just like the relationship between Scat and Six, product is presented to the public one way and then suddenly another.Something we love to buy today is off the list soon. No matter what the change is it's still perceived as the same thing. Once the syrup is gone we loose interest.Welcome to 'Syrup'.
Robert W. I watched this for one reason and I am perhaps ashamed to say it but it was because I think Amber Heard is gorgeous. She isn't always the best actress (though I think she isn't bad) but I just have a huge thing for her. What surprised me was that this little indie romance/dark comedy was actually okay. It was far from amazing and didn't blow me away but honestly I watch so many truly awful indie flicks that I don't make it half way through and this wasn't awful. In fact, it was a unique and well developed concept with some very dark humour and the spin on it using marketing as a driving force and lesson in morality was really well done. The pacing of the film isn't great and often drags just a little bit. The chemistry between our lead stars isn't perfect, it isn't bad but there is some spark missing. I also am not sure they knew what direction or genre they wanted to take this film in and it feels a little jumbled at times. I think with a better director and perhaps screenwriter they could have honed the picture just a little better and made it more impressive. However, for what it is it was fun and worth watching if not mostly forgettable.The aforementioned Amber Heard is the cutthroat Six. She has spent years creating her image and is a power hungry and emotionally void marketing manager. Heard is decent in the role. It isn't her best performance but she does it well. Shiloh Fernandez is okay in his role as Scat. He is supposed to be a brilliant marketing genius who is scatter brained and disillusioned with the advertising world. The problem is that he looks too young and isn't quiet believable in his role. He comes across as someone who just lucked out on a good idea. The chemistry with Heard is again, okay, but could have been much better. The supporting cast includes Kellan Lutz in a darkly comic role as Sneaky Pete. It isn't exactly a tough role but he does it decently. Brittany Snow shows up in a role so small if you sneeze you'll miss it so there isn't any point in even mentioning her. Everyone else plays their role decently but no one really stands out as worth mentioning.Syrup is a satire and there is very few films that do satire well. This does is well. The problem is the potential is really great and it drops the ball frequently. Aram Rappaport is very inexperienced and this film needs a director with more style and vision. I was surprised to see that author Max Barry who wrote the novel the film is based on also co-wrote the screenplay with Rappaport. The entire movie just needed more experience. Now pleasure understand I enjoyed watching it, it just felt unfortunately forgettable. Still it was unique and a good story and the voice over narration scenes breaking the fourth wall worked very well. It was an average flick that showed a ton of potential. I have no doubt the book was exponentially better. 6/10
Tony Heck "Looking at a billboard is supposed to feel like love at first sight but it's not real, it's just marketing and without it you wouldn't even know who you are." Scat (Fernandez) is fresh out of marketing school with no prospects on the horizon until he comes up with an idea for a new energy drink. When he brings it to the attention of Six (Heard) he is excited at the prospect of becoming rich but a double cross changes everything. With the job I have I pretty much watch everything no matter what it is. I usually don't watch the trailers for the movie because I don't like when they give too much away. Doing it that way makes what I watch real hit or miss as far as how good it is. What I have noticed is that the lower budget movies that I haven't heard of are 99% of the time better then the "studio" movies. This is a perfect example of that. I don't know if satire is the right word but the movie to me shows how the marketing industry will do whatever it takes to sell a product and how gullible the public is when it comes to branding. The movie does get a little dark at times but that proves it's point all the more. The movie is entertaining and funny but to me this is more of a statement movie. I could also be reading way too much into it though. Overall, a huge surprise of a movie that I highly recommend. I give it an A-.