What Goes Up Review

I didn't get a chance to see What Goes Up in theaters, as it was not playing in my city and apparently didn't do well at the theaters it was playing in. About a week after it was released on DVD I was at Wal-Mart and decided to pick it up. Problem was I didn't have my ID on me at the time and the movie is Rated R. So even though I'm well old enough to buy a Rated R DVD they wouldn't let me take it out of the store. So I took my business across the street to Best Buy who had no problem selling me the movie although it was $5 more expensive.

On to the movie. The first time I watched it it didn't hold my attention. I like to watch movies in the theater because I can devote all my energy to the movie without distraction. Whenever I try to watch a movie at home on DVD I seem to get distracted, and this movie was no exception. A half hour into it I was checking out some things on my laptop with the movie still playing in the background. So my first impression of the movie was that it was dull, somewhat boring and convoluted. When the movie was over I was wondering what I had just watched.

I knew I didn't give the movie a fair shake the first time around, so I decided to watch it again, this time distraction free. I definitely understood the story better the second time around, but I'm still trying to figure the movie out. There are so many things going on that it's almost hard to keep track. Suicide, teen pregnancy, shoplifting, disabilities and affairs between students and teachers are all touched upon in the backdrop of the impending Challenger Shuttle disaster.

Perhaps the biggest theme of the movie is heroism, and how a hero's legacy is molded not by the hero's real life actions, but what is written about the hero after the fact. There are a few different heroes in the movie and their respective legacies are usually far different than what actually happened. What are the filmmakers trying to say here? That there are no heroes? That nobody's perfect? That sometimes it's better to stretch the truth to make a better story? Who knows.

Overall What Goes Up is a slightly interesting independent film that will certainly make you think about some things if it can hold your interest. The problem is that the movie isn't terribly entertaining and is quite slow at times. Hilary Duff's performance is good but it isn't anything we haven't seen her do before, and I doubt this movie will have much affect on her career.