.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Imagine you are a little known writer/director having two small insignificant films on your resume when, BAM!, you write and direct a film that goes on to become one of the top 10 grossing films of all-time. You get Oscar nominations and soon, your name is associated with a much copied style of twisting an ending into something the audience didn't see coming.

The writer/director to which I am referring is M. Night Shyamalan and the film was the, "I see dead people", The Sixth Sense. It was, in a word, a phenomena. It was the most talked about film of 1999 and office chatter was abuzz about the film and the ending that - surprisingly - was kept close to the chest of even those who saw the film.

It's hard to live up to the billing of the next Spielberg, but that is exactly the crown of thorns being placed on Shyamalan's head when he released his next film, Unbreakable. Unbreakable was good (I, for one thought it better than The Sixth Sense), and the box office and reception was fair when compared to its predecessor. His next film, Signs was also a cash grab and while his next two films, The Village and Lady in the Water opened big, they fizzled after their opening weekend as audiences didn't warm up to what seemed to be self indulgent forgettable fare.

So here comes, The Happening. Another written, produced and directed effort from M. Night that represents the first time he has a Restricted banner on his film's poster.

The Happening stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel as Elliot and Alma Moore - a not so happy couple living in Philadelphia when a mysterious virus begins affecting citizens turning off their inhibitors that stop us from taking our own lives.

With this human switch turned to the 'off' position, people begin to do the craziest and most graphic of things like jumping from skyscrapers, stabbing themselves with hair needles, driving into trees and even lying down in front of a crop thrasher. Each death is equal in its horrific nature and M. Night does his best (sometimes trying too hard like the man who decides to jump into a lion's den at a zoo and make himself dinner for the hungry carnivores) to have the audience in awe at the lengths some people go through to take their own lives.

The heart of The Happening is Elliot's survival and his deciphering as to what might be causing this natural disaster (after all, he is a science teacher). The fluff around Elliot's uncovering and realization of the culprit (natural vs. terrorist attack) is simple, bad written dope that does nothing to aide in M. Nights attempts to have his name engraved on a trophy that represents his writing ability.

SPOILER ALERT !!!

When we finally do figure out some answers half the audience laughed while the other scratched their heads in unison. Seems the grass and trees had something against the humans and they began to use their defense mechanisms - their ability to emit toxins - to fight back.

Sounds ridiculous so let me write it again. Seems the grass and the trees had something against the humans and they began to use their defense mechanisms - their ability to emit toxins - to fight back.

Hmmmm. The only thing grass has ever done to me is have me stuck on my lazy chair a full Saturday afternoon eating Smores and laughing at Smurf cartoons.

Whether you believe or care in the cause of cities and entire populations killing themselves off is up to each individual, but I was half involved in the plight of the few survivors and how was able to overlook the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

But I was in the minority based on comments from exiting patrons.

The Happening is likely to be classified as M. Night's worst effort since his breakthrough, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been and not as good as I might make it.

First of all, when fear and tension has to be squeezed from scenes where winds pick up and the grass and trees wave their blades and branches in your direction, you are asking for a lot from an audience that just wants to sit and be entertained during blockbuster summer time. Running from a breeze to escape the wrath of lilac bush is not exactly terrifying stuff.

But I can excuse that a little bit as the death scenes were enough to keep me in a state of gawk and allow me to ignore what caused the gawk in the first place.

What I can't excuse was the terrible writing that surrounded the plight. Mark Wahlberg isn't the best of actors on the best of days. He is wooden and can't emote much through that squeaky Boogie Nights voice. And when given a terrible dialogue script to work with - he is almost unwatchable. Add in some plot points that just don't go anywhere (which include a subplot involving someone named Joey that had dessert with Alma) and we get a mish mash of uninteresting, poorly executed dribble.

M. Night can take all the blame for this mess. I have written before that having someone as writer/producer/director, makes for a film that is one person's vision, and if that vision is off track….well, see The Happening and you will know to what I am referring. Even Spielberg gets others to write his efforts and I ask, no, I implore M. Night to take a cue from the master.

All was not completely lost however. I thought if the film had a few scenes re-edited (oh, and the amount of times that the boom mic dropped into frame was too distracting to even count) and then produce the film in black and white to give it a 1950's feel, we might have something that falls in line with some of the lesser Hitchcock efforts.

But we don't. Instead we get characters putting their heads through windows and others that say such prolific things as "Cheese and crackers!" when confronted with a shocking revelation.

Dear God.

Twice in The Happening we hear the line "An act of nature that we may never get to fully understand". Well, The Happening is a movie that I don't fully understand either. All I know is that what isn't happening is me going to see this film in the theatre again.