Scotch and Milk (1998) Reviews

• Pseudo-noir saves itself from pretentiousness...

  mike-9481999-09-21

  It would be easy to call this film self-indulgent, pretentious and egocentric but it saves itself from such allegations with some really engaging and witty dialogue - very dry and dark. It is beautifully shot but lacks some pace to what I reluctantly call the story, which is in fact rambling existential angst. I think it is self-conscious enough to know that the under-world of jazz , chain-smoking and greasy hair is instantly cliche ridden and manages, though not all the time, to be inventive enough to avoid inducing embarrassing grimaces or worse, laughs in the wrong places. The lead character you may recognise as Chandler's sinister flatmate in Friends some time ago. I sense him wanting to go down the same path as Vincent Gallo - dying to be an auteur!

• My opinion

  Ender-111999-07-03

  Great movie. Dark, endearing, just overall cool. I saw it at a film festival in Flagstaff, Arizona, where I attend college. I don't remember much details but Jim's girlfriend was beautiful and the acting was all-around great. I just wish I could get a video copy somehow!

• one of my favorite movies

  mmichellej2004-03-03

  this movie gets ripped in reviews, but i have to say it's one of the most brillant movies i have ever seen. it's said to be a watery version of swingers, but in my mind there's not much similarity. every time i watch it it impresses me with such emotion, growth and sadness that i and many of my friends can relate to. it's a love story first and about a guy who searches and finds himself. brilliant dialogue. interesting characters. beautiful cinematography. shot in black and white. makes LA look like a magnificent, multi dimensional city. it's got great jazz. If you can get this movie WATCH it, but be prepared to put in some time. it's longer than the average hollywood movie.

• A group of would be jazzsters contemplate life.

  scrutiny2002-01-04

  I remember reading the somewhat positive review of this film about a year and a half ago in Variety and seeing Adam Goldberg's name attached to it, who I hold a place in my critical heart for his appearance in Richard Linklater's Dazed & Confused, I wanted to see this film badly. I wish I could dampen my enthusiasm a few notches in retrospect. Scotch & Milk ultimately will remind many of the much better Swingers, a film I still think was a better screenplay than film, but even though Milk is more expressionistic and arty, this doesn't mean its a better film in the long run. I really do think this film was made for the sole fact to see if the camera worked. The film rambles from one improvisational set piece to another, further strengthens the argument against smoking and drinking, and really doesn't say much that Swingers or even more to the point, Barbet Schroeder's Barfly, didn't say better. I caught this film recently on the Sundance channel and I do agree with the American Cinematography writer's laudable comments regarding Milk's look but even some trash manages to look pretty that doesn't mean it's better. I hope Goldberg has a better film in him in the years to come.  

• Post-collegiate self-indulgence

  therealmetaman2001-12-30

  Goldman attempts a faux film noir that has some nice cinematic details, but the screenplay avoids character development, leaving nothing of substance to chew on. With lines like "What becomes of a poet who cannot write and his muse tired of poetry?," some of this film is hard to take.