THE PROFESSOR (Richard Says Goodbye) Updates

[justintime]

**Not sure if this is now a true “review” thread. Most of my post is just thoughts, but that means some spoilers.**

First, thank you ItD for posting those two recent reviews. Last I looked, RT still had published only their “legitimate” critics’ insights, determined to justify their unjustifiable, entrenched prejudices with useless, petty comments and ignorant, (not so) clever zingers. Even Mr. Bowen’s review, referenced here earlier, was ultimately relegated to the “rotten” tally. Result: 0% positive reviews with the latest twist being “Johnny Depp was miscast”! If it wasn’t all so obviously enforced, lockstep, hurtful garbage with everyone towing the line to bury this film, perhaps we could just ignore it.

But, it is and we mustn’t. This film, by all rights, should be in theaters. It’s nowhere in my USA northeast neighborhood that I could find so I relented, and for the first time in my years of having Amazon Prime, I rented a movie, this movie. So far I’ve watched it twice in the allotted 48-hour period. I laughed and cried. I will continue to keep an eye on theater showings and if it plays around here, I will definitely go to see it there, too. To watch Johnny’s performance on the big screen, in this film - no brainer. When (if?) it comes out on DVD, I will buy it.

Why? Because through The Professor Johnny has truly given us a piece of himself, real time, bare bones. No other movie he’s done (imao) even comes close. What a fine, honest, special, and surely risky little film. All the times I’ve thought - when watching some brief JD video, being blown away by some photos of Johnny with friends, or a written account of some event, “Oh, if only I could have been the proverbial fly-on-the-wall!”. Well, here we are free to buzz around and hear Richard’s/Johnny’s thoughts, watch his spontaneous reaction to getting a deadly cancer diagnosis, (I don’t know about you, but I don’t curb my tongue when I receive a gut-blow; I have found profanity to be a highly effective yet benign stress reliever, alone or not), to softly telling his cheating wife, in front of a large gathering of friends and coworkers, he loves her - very much. Scene after scene, Johnny let’s us into Richards’s head, he pulls no punches nor tailors his “Richard” to reap the blessing of “Me Too” or any other watchdog sanctioner. Richard’s death march humor IS funny - because it is, part and parcel, Richard, occasionally subtle, often nuanced, always on point (“....I’m not sure how much of this I’ll want to remember... “) and frequently punctuated with outbursts of defiant, sometimes defensive or embarrassed, laughter. Johnny is roundly criticized for every choice he’s made to bring Richard to life, in other words, he gives us a (Libertine-like) performance that allows himself no net. I could go on and on but, with a finger wave to the critics, suffice to say, “It works!”.

[gipsyblues]

Thank you justintime, for your honest and sincere opinion about this wonderful movie.

[Judymac]

I live in the U.S. and have Spectrum Cable. The Professor is on demand for $6.99. I am guessing that anyone who has Spectrum Cable in the U.S. can get the Professor on demand.

[SnoopyDances]

Looks like it is rentable on UVerse fo $8.99.

[tocnavforjd]

I agree (can't believe I'm saying I agree with a movie critic) with Sean Boelman's review. I recommend it solely to see Johnny act. He is so way better than this movie deserves. I wish that someday soon I can see him in a movie that has a story and a story-telling that lives up to his talent and gifts. The writer and director of this really didn't know what story to tell here (just got too messed up with subplots and attempts at dark comedy that he lost vision of the message he was trying to send)….but Johnny's performance was something to see.

[nebraska]

That was not the best movie Johnny has ever appeared in. I was prepared to love it, and in places it was brilliant, fun, and enjoyable to watch. But it was also disjointed in other parts and there were times I felt sorry for Johnny struggling to give life to some pretty awful dialogue. Some of it touched my heart deeply and made me think, some of it was so bad it was ridiculous. How could Richard's family and other people around him not see how pale and sickly he was becoming as the disease progressed? I thought the plot sort of fell apart toward the end but the very last scene was pretty cool. For me, it was quite uneven. I wish the entire movie had been able to maintain the standards of the early classroom scenes. I rented it from Amazon Prime so I have access to it for another 45 or so hours; I will watch it again, maybe twice more, and then I hope it eventually is available on disc.

With all that said, I wish it had been shown in the regular cinema. It was far better than some of the junk showing out there! Johnny was beautiful! His smile, his charm, his grace, his talent ... yes, for that I will be sure to watch again. (And again!)

[Ruby Begonia]

Planning to watch this tonight online since it's not at a theater anywhere near me so far, but http://www.showtimes.com lists several US states where The Professor is playing now at a theater:

The Villages, FL
Hollywood CA
Riverbank CA
Frankfort IL
Canton MI
New York NY
Lakeville MN
Seattle WA
"Clevelands" OH

You can search there by zip code and city in case it's playing anywhere else.

[jruoss]

Also available to stream on youtube for $6.99...

[ForeverYoung]

This film brought tears to my eyes more than once and I thought Johnny's acting was from the heart, especially with the daughter. I thought the ending could have been done differently but my idea would have been tragic, although bittersweet. Anyway, I recommend everyone see the film and make sure you have a box of tissues handy.

[jruoss]

Just finished watching... nothing bad to say about it. It felt emotionally true, deep, and if the script was somehow lacking, I didn't notice, because Johnny is so present and real and powerful, just a gem of a being... no complaints about any of the other actors either. Danny Huston is definitely an asset as Richard's friend. I did not find myself deterred by concerns of political correctness or parallels to real life the way some (completely heartless) reviews have... Given the presented situation, I was not offended by Richard's behavior, even if at moments it seems to veer toward nihilism. To me this deserves better than a "straight to tv" status, but I'm just glad to have been able to have seen it.

[Chocolat]

Johnny's superior talent with executing dialog with such passion is what makes him one of the favorite actors of our generation. As a man with a terminal illness, the emotional roller coaster Richard experienced reflected, similarly, in the emotions of the actor himself. The character moved me to feel a familiar parallel between Richard's turmoil and Johnny's unhappiness over the past few years. Observing his facial expressions, without heavy makeup, was a welcomed addition as is his phenomenal acting that gave "The Professor" the boost it needed. Honestly, I felt the script was somewhat weak in parts but Johnny carried the story so well that I could overlook those uninspiring bits. It was a joy to see him in almost every scene too. However, for me, the sort of humor meant to lighten up the darker premise of the film wasn't enough in my opinion. It may take a bit more for me to enthusiastically laugh out loud, but the light humor may give you more chuckles. The film was about his character dealing with the emotional unrest of a terminal illness and I couldn't help think that a lot of what Johnny was going through in his personal life filtered through into Richard. I felt what he felt....anger, frustration, irreverence, sadness, love, fear and everything in between. It wasn't just Richard I was watching, it was also Johnny in his purest essence. I wasn't offended by the over use of expletives since they've become a part of our culture. Yet, it's a little uncomfortable for me to watch Johnny play parts with scenes of debauchery as Richard experiments with careless behavior. Nevertheless, the undertones of light humor helped to soften those brief scenes. This is one of those films that emphasizes Johnny's ability to, once again, prove himself to be a terrific actor in voice and expression in any character that he plays. Lastly, I was touched to see Jerry Judge's name in the credits for Johnny's security and that the film was dedicated to Betty Sue Depp.

[nebraska]

Watched a second time today, with my daughter-in-law who really enjoyed the movie and laughed at most of the right places. I liked the movie better the second time through, but we both agreed the ending didn't stand up to the quality of the rest of the movie. Still, it really deserves to be seen far and wide! Johnny was wonderful.

[myfave]

I just watched the movie with my hubby. We both liked it. Some funny and some sad parts...well done Johnny!

[SnoopyDances]

The movie is getting 82% positive ratings from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.

[meeps]

Yes, as usual his 'bosses' love what Johnny does, and the media more or less hate it