As a mother there are certain movies that I want my kids to see.  For me, these movies convey a message or warning that is more easily accepted coming from a cool actor rather than a nagging mother.  Two good examples are Midnight Express (don’t do drugs, and don’t even go near drugs in a foreign country), and 127 Hours (always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back).

I sat watching the recently released movie Limitless thinking: “I can’t get my kids to see this movie soon enough.”  In the movie, Bradley Cooper’s character, Eddie, discovers a pill that takes him to near-one hundred percent brain capacity.  He goes from a loser with bad hair and a messy apartment, to a wealthy, Wall Street woman-magnet within a few short weeks.  This drug “shortcut” surely couldn’t end well for Eddie!  His girlfriend warns him that the person he is on the drug is not the “real” Eddie.  Robert De Niro’s character admonishes him for being cocky, letting him know that you can make money but you have to earn respect; he is also being investigated for a murder he may, or may not, have committed.  If that’s not enough, Eddie finds out that other people on the drug have had horrible reactions and even died.  I thought to myself: “Surely he will get off this drug and get his life together.”  When the movie ends, Eddie is wealthy, has his girlfriend back, and Robert De Niro is asking him for political favors (Eddie is now running for elected office), and, he is still on the drug.

I left the theater thinking that I hoped to heck my kids DID NOT see this movie — EVER!  I wanted to go to the director’s house and give him a piece of my mind. Does he have any idea how hard it is to raise kids these days?  I was so upset I almost wished I had a Valium to calm myself down, or maybe one of those PM formula pain relievers to help me sleep it off.

Limitless left me thinking: “Have all of the ‘pills’ that we have come to depend on changed the culture of our country?”

There’s Ritalin to help our kids focus in school.  This drug is rampant on college campuses — why bother to go to class or study during the week when you can pop a pill to stay up and study all night before the test and pass?  Never mind that you won’t remember much of what you crammed into your brain when you really need it in a future job situation.  There are myriad anti-depressants to help with everything from divorce to “life just isn’t fun,” Ecstasy for “this party is fun, but it could be more fun,” and steroids to get bigger, faster, and stronger. Developing coping skills or enjoying simple pleasures in life — football on the beach or a good conversation — is considered quaint.  We give kids trophies for just showing up when they are little and when they grow up they take “supplements” so  they don’t have to do much more than just show up. Things like underdogs, sportsmanship, and playing because you love the game have been sidelined.

There are pills to help you sleep and pills to help you forget, but not all “pills” come in pill form.  There are energy drinks to get you going in the morning and pot to help you “chill” in the afternoon.  Sometimes the pill is in the form of government: “we will give you a loan to buy a house with no money down.”  The American dream has become the American entitlement.  And, sometimes the pill comes in the form of parents: “We will get you a tutor to help you do better.”  (Color me guilty!)  The child doesn’t have to want to do better for him or herself.  Why should they track down a teacher to get extra help, find a friend to explain something they’ve missed, or go online for any reason other than Facebook when their parents will pay someone to come to their house and teach them something that they probably don’t care about learning?

Don’t get me wrong.  There are useful drugs that truly make people’s lives’s better, and sometimes shortcuts are necessary. But we’ve become a society that has become adverse to hard work and sacrifice and our self-esteem and self-respect have suffered for it. Having the self-discipline to save for a house or to turn off the television to study creates ownership and pride.  Our intentions have been good, but the results of making things too easy have been disastrous — from our deficit dilemma to our failing schools.  There is no “shortcut” pill to get us back on track. We are all going to have to swallow the bitter pills of hard work, sacrifice and discipline.

When I was young my mother used to tell me that hard work and adversity created character.  I vividly remember telling her if that was the case, I didn’t need or want character…boy, was I wrong.

I saw both movies!

The Lincoln Lawyer was fun and entertaining — perfect for a Friday night when you just don’t want to think too hard.  Matthew McConaughey was his swaggering and charming self and yes, of course, they found a reason for him to be on camera without his shirt or at least down to his “wife-beater” t-shirt.  His critics will tell you that he plays the same character in every movie; his admirers will tell you that he does it really well.  They are both right.  Mr. McConaughey owns this character,  Mick Haller, an attorney that does business from the back of a Lincoln Town Car. Earl (played by Laurence Mason) chauffeurs Mick from meetings (sometimes held on the side of the road with the Hell’s Angels) to the courthouse  – Mick has a bit of a drinking problem and lost his license. The script was interesting with some twists and turns, but not complicated. Marisa Tomei is very good as his ex-wife and William H. Macy brings a lot of life to a small role as a friend and detective for Mr. McConaughey’s Mick.    A fun character with a good plot = QQQQ

In Limitless, Bradley Cooper goes from the sophomoric/jerk character he usually plays (The Hangover, Wedding Crashers) to loser Eddie, a sloven with writer’s block who discovers a pill that takes him to near 100% brain power.  Eddie goes from struggling writer to brilliant novelist to wealthy Wall Street player within a few weeks of discovering the “magic” pill. Sounds like something you would kill for, right?  Yep, that’s what happens and that’s what I didn’t like about the movie.  What could have been a very interesting look at success via hard work and skill (real success) vs. success not earned, but bought and paid for (synthetic success), was reduced to a crime drama replete with Russian thugs.  Bradley Cooper is good, and Robert De Niro delivers a great speech that should be  galvanizing but ultimately is not. A great theme not explored in an otherwise good movie = QQQq

NOTE: Tune in to Qmuze this Tuesday for more on Limitless, and how it sadly, reflects our culture.

And now for what you’ve really been waiting for — the results of McConaughey vs. Cooper.  And the winner is:  George Clooney.   Mr. Clooney won as a write-in with Mr. Cooper slightly edging out Mr. McConaughey for second place.  Limitless beat out The Lincoln Lawyer at the box office proving my “man-over-movie” theory. The bottom line: suave sophistication and clever humor (GC) trumps southern swagger with great abdominals (MM), AND boyish charm with piercing blue eyes (BC)!