Review of The Adderall Diaries (2016) by Leon B — 20 Aug 2016

Review:

When I first read the plot of this movie, and saw the cast, I had big expectations for this film but it turned out to be a big let down. The pace was really slow and the different elements were far apart. You have this father and son element between Stephen Elliott (James Franco) and Neil Elliott (Ed Harris), about there troubled relationship mixed with drugs and violence, and then you have this murder case, about Hans Reiser (Christian Slater), who was accused of killing his wife. You've also got a love story between Stephen, whose an inspiring writer, and Lana Edmond (Amber Heard) who is a reporter for the murder case but that doesn't really go anywhere. I personally lost interest very early in the film because the plot was all over the place and the director concentrated on trivia matters. The performances wasn't bad from Franco, Harris and Heard but I have seen better from these experienced actors. I didn't really understand what point the director was trying to get across, because the ending was pretty poor and James Franco's character just became uninteresting. Basically the film was a bit let down and I struggled to keep my eyes open through the whole movie. Disappointing!

Round-Up:

This movie was directed by Pamela Romanowsky, who also brought you Forever Love in 2012, which was also unheard of. She is due to release a movie starring James Franco, Pamela Anderson, Josh Duhamel, Topher Grace, Eric Roberts, Tim Blake Nelson and Lori Singer, called The Institute, which is due out next year but I haven't got high hopes for the film, because this film was such a big let down. You can tell that she hasn't got much experience behind the camera because the different elements that she was introducing, just didn't gel that well and she didn't get the most out of the actors. There was to much time wasted on sex scenes and flashbacks which the whole project could have done without. Anyway, I expected more from Franco and Harris but I doubt that this will damage there impressive reputations.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their crime/drama/thrillers starring James Franco, Christian Slater, Ed Harris, Amber Heard, Jim Parrack and Cynthia Nixon. 2/10.