This movie and others like it are the cinematic equivalent of going to a chain restaurant and ordering a cheeseburger. You go into it knowing what to expect and you leave satisfied, even if ultimately it is a forgettable movie/burger.
"That Awkward Moment" is consistently amusing and has a few good laughs, but there's nothing there to elevate it above its genre. It is incredibly formulaic. The general direction of the plot is evident from the word "go". There are also a few moments in the film that felt a bit contrived; they were only present to help the film move along its preordained track. In a movie with loftier aspirations, this would have bothered me more, but in this case I merely shrugged. Sure, some elements of the screenplay could have been handled with more subtlety, but this didn't have a huge negative impact on my viewing experience.
This probably isn't worth seeing in theatres for people who don't go very often, but it would make for a fine choice for an evening's entertainment once it's available for rental or on cable.
I didn't use my Movie Pass to see "Gravity", as the pass doesn't work for IMAX or 3D screenings, and I'd heard that the film should be seen under those conditions. That turned out to be good advice.
The visuals in the film are amazing, and the use of 3-D feels merited. In some films I'll almost forget I'm seeing a movie in 3-D (in a bad way), but here I felt the effects of the extra dimension for the entire film. It was on these merits that the film held my attention. The story itself is effective, but nothing special or groundbreaking. It probably came across as better than it actually is due to how well the effects immerse the viewer in the world of the film.
Were the groundbreaking effects enough to justify the film's Best Picture nomination? I'm not sure, but they might be. It's certainly not at the bottom of my list now that I've seen all the nominees. And this movie highlighted better than anything else I've seen in a while one of the reasons to go to the movies. It's not always about seeing a complex story. Sometimes it's just about the spectacle of it all.
Next time: "Labor Day" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire".
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