The Real Pain

 

So, let's talk about Kieran Culkin, the younger brother of "Home Alone" Macauley.  He's getting a lot of Oscar Supporting Actor buzz for this film "A Real Pain."  Now I know he won a recent Emmy for his work on HBO's "Succession," a show that held my interest despite the fact that all the characters were detestable.  Kieran's character was particularly annoying.  I was curious to see this and determine how he was managing all the Oscar attention.

I discovered that, in this one, Kieran is as unlikeable as he was on HBO.   The kind of character you want to punch in the mouth.  Talk about acting range.  Indeed, you hate him even more in "A Real Pain," a movie that is way too self-conscious for its own good.   The co-star is Jesse Eisenberg, who also wrote and directed the movie.  It's a tough sit.   And that is likely the real pain here.

Jesse and Kieran play Jewish cousins who go on a tour of Holocaust concentration camps in Poland.  Hey, now there's a vacation spot on my bucket list.   The young men also want to visit the home where their grandmother managed to survive the onslaught of Hitler's goon squad.  

Admittedly, any film with that as its setting is going to be grim and dour.  But, somehow, Kieran's character makes it worse.  Clearly, he is insane and never shuts up to the chagrin of all the other tour members.  By one third into the film, you are so sick of his character that you secretly wish one of the gas ovens was still working.

Eisenberg's work here is also a little too pretentious.  You can see the acting seams.  But, at the end, it is Kieran Culkin's character that sinks the movie altogether.  It made me wonder if he's as unlikeable in real life.   That's two projects in a row where I wanted to kill his character.  Coincidental?   Well, let's see what he plays in the movie right after he wins his Oscar.

LEN'S RATING:  Two stars.

Dinner last night:  Chicken parm.