A few years ago, after being bored to tears by Noah Baumbach’s movie “Mistress America,” I swore I’d never again let myself be suckered into watching his work (as I had previously with “Frances Ha” and “Greenberg”). But this weekend I let my guard down and decided to check out “Marriage Story,” which is garnering huge critical acclaim and a few awards nods.
Big mistake.
Martha and I could only make it about halfway through before we agreed we’d seen enough. It’s not that we have anything against Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, whose work we’ve admired in the past, nor supporting players like Laura Dern, Julie Haggerty, and Ray Liotta. We also weren’t turned off by the subject matter (hell, I’ll sit through “Kramer vs. Kramer” again anytime over “Marriage Story”).
It’s that we didn’t care one iota about either of the two lead characters, or the fissure that drove them towards divorce. If you can’t make me, as a viewer, interested in the couple in the first half-hour, why should I bother sitting through the rest of it?
Fortunately, it’s on Netflix, so it cost us nothing more than time, but I certainly don’t recommend you waste yours on this disappointment.
I’m giving “Marriage Story” a 3 out of 10 — and two of those points are for Azhy Robertson, the kid who plays Scarlett and Adam’s adorable 8-year-old son.