For a movie not short on big names, it sure was short on interest. The United States of Leland is a look at life after Leland Fitzgerald (Ryan Gosling) senselessly murders the retarded brother of the girl that just dumped him.
Leland is convicted of his crime and while in prison his story grabs the interest of his big house teacher Pearl Madison (Don Cheadle) who sees a chance at kick starting his stalled writing career with Leland’s story. On the other side of the bars you have a whole slew of characters whose lives you really never care about, since THEY ARE ALL SO BORING!
The United States of Leland is a test of stamina, meaning that you must have a high tolerance for drab emotionless chatter to stick this one out. Kevin Spacey, a man who has perfected the art of the monotone voice, plays a very small role in it all, as he becomes an afterthought here as he plays the distant father of Leland, who pops in and out of the story here and there, and once again we are made victims of the poor acting of Chris Klein.
Unlike American Pie 1 & 2, where Klein didn’t really get in the way of the movie, even though he let us all know that he can’t act, here his character plays a pivotal role, and that being said it is one more reason this movie sucked.
Now I know the word “sucked” isn’t exactly a word you here from most critics, often times the words must be more high-brow, but in the case of Leland it is a perfect adjective. Granted the movie has a plot twist at the end that you may not expect, but by the time you get to it, you just don’t care.
There is no way I could recommend this film and I can only hope that Matthew Ryan Hoge’s next attempt at film making will be a better one.
