Our beginning is narrated by Matt King (George Clooney) in a very unique way. First he says that he lives in Hawaii and that despite him living in "paradise", he along with all the other residents have troubles. That you can live anywhere or be anybody and still have awful issues. Matt's wife was in a motorboat accident and has landed in a deep coma. It doesn't look good. Matt now needs to take care of his two daughters singlehandedly. Both daughters have the same issues (being foul mouthed trouble makers). The eldest is played by Shailene Woodley in a marvelous performance. I'd never thought I'd say the star of The Secret Life of an American Teenager should be an Oscar nominee, but perhaps I've said stranger in the past. To add to Matt's problems he finds out his wife was cheating on him and so begins a humorous and engaging attempt to confront this man. The last of Matt's present problems is the matter of land. He's the descendant of a Hawaiian princess that married a white settler. He owns a large portion of untouched land that he must decide (as the head of a trust fund) to keep it preserved or to sell for hundreds of millions dollars to hotel owners. His family isn't going to let this issue be delayed any longer. There are three fascinating stories here all with interesting characters that genuinely get you involved in the movie. Time flies when you're having fun and this film and I loved every second.
Alexander Payne (the director) is a carful man and thank god for that! He's the master of the adult comedy. The fact that this comes close to the quality of his masterpiece known as Sideways is reason enough to rave about this. Payne chooses his movies carefully and since stepping it up with Election, he's done nothing but great pieces of work. He's really that brilliant. I give this four stars not because it's the best movie I've seen this year (top ten though) but it holds up very well in it's field. The Descendants is a dramedy (comedy/drama) and is comparable to Sideways which is also a four star film. Look at it as the pinnacle of the dramedy while Sunshine Cleaning is about a two and half star film. How Saving Private Ryan is a four star war film while The Great Raid is about a two. Clooney leads this pitch perfect cast in a mesmerizing performance. It may just be his best when you take his typecast into consideration. People love Clooney so seeming him play awkward is both great and fresh. It's going to be a strange Oscar season this year but don't be surprised to see The Descendants to go home heavy handed.
**** out of ****
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