The Case Against "The Social Network"

The Academy Awards are just around the corner (a week from today!). My Oscar picks will be coming this week. But before I get to that, I would like to voice my disappointment with one of the leading contenders: "The Social Network."

Maybe it's just me, but I found "The Social Network" to be the most overrated movie of 2010. It pains me to say this, because I am a huge fan of director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin. I was sure their combined forces would create one of the best movies of the year. Boy was I wrong! It falls apart even in the opening. I'm pretty computer savvy and am a Facebook user myself, but the techno-babble at the beginning lost me.

I was hoping it would get better. Sadly, it got worse. It vaguely shows how Facebook's founder didn't get along well with women and how he had trouble making friends in general but was a computer whiz. This could have been done with some depth so I cared about the characters. It wasn't. From there on it's an endless series of lawsuits centered around who really founded Facebook. The pacing is terrible, the acting uneven, and the writing forgettable. When the movie was over I thought it was okay, but the more I thought about it the more I realized what a disappointment it was.

It's infuriating to me that this movie is being considered for any awards. How could David Fincher get an Oscar nod for directing over say Christopher Nolan for "Inception?" Fincher has directed far superior movies, such as "Zodiac" and "Se7en." Equally as disappointing to me was the writing. I am a huge fan of Aaron Sorkin for years. After all, he created "The West Wing," one of the smartest shows on TV and also wrote/directed "The American President." In short, this movie is tedious, sloppy, and underwhelming. Spending a day on Facebook would be more worth your time and mentally engaging. Avoid this movie!