C.O.G. (2013) User Reviews

Fails to live up to its source

[cornflakeboy20 · 5/10 · 2 October 2013]

C.O.G. is my favorite David Sedaris essay, even before I moved to Oregon and recognized some of its landmarks. The movie even begins with one of my favorite speeches from the essay, although the speech is much better on the page.

The story concerns a young man who fantasizes about joining the working class (as in Grapes of Wrath) and travels to Oregon to pick apples, work in an apple sorting factory, and make jade sculptures with a temperamental man who is trying to convert him to Christianity. In the essay, Sedaris, as himself, is state school educated, a stoner, accustomed to menial jobs, and from a working class family. In the movie, David – or Samuel, as he's calling himself – is a smarmy preppy educated at Yale who is first depicted reading Darwin's Origin of Species. When Sedaris makes fun of crazy people on a Greyhound, or working class people at a factory, it is clear that he is making fun of his own expectations, as well as people not far below him in social class. This is quite a contrast to an upper class character looking down on dumb poor people. This is one of the movie's first flaws. And it colors almost everything. What is his true motivation, if he is so jaded and cynical? What is the movie trying to tell us about working people and Christians when it presents us with this character as its hero?

A second flaw is one chief among Hollywood movies, even those intended for the art-house crowd. Though David Sedaris himself, as well as the lead actor, are openly gay, this movie wouldn't want to come out and just say such a thing, why people might flee into the streets. So it teases us with making us believe he might have a female love interest; it does not tell us what the source of the conflict is with his family (it would appear to be his coming out); it doesn't tell us why he is so freaked out by a co-worker's gay advances (is it because he's grossed out by the man or the concept?), or how any of this might impact his potential conversion to Christianity. I'm sure the director has a lofty, annoying explanation for this oversight, but I can count two "so, was he gay?" posts already on the list of five that show up on the main page.

The score, mainly percussion, will be off-putting to many, especially in the first scenes on the bus. And the ending will also confuse. After personal conflicts with many of the characters, how will his opinions and his Christian conversion change? We know IRL that David Sedaris went on to a happy life as a bestselling author. A less vague ending could have shown what the character learned from these experiences, especially since this movie tried so hard to be more sincere than its comedic base.

This movie has some things going for it, but it is philosophically a disappointment.

Intriguing But Unresolved... Unchecked Problematic Ideas

[stefarbalova · 5/10 · 16 January 2014]

The movie seems very promising in trailers and even when one starts watching it, almost until the end... when loose ends are left hanging and all of one's hopes for the movie's potential to communicate relevant and illuminating ideas collapse.

Moreover, their referring to many problematic notions and expressions remains unchecked. The use of "retard," "faggot" and "slut" is never explained or condemned. The idea of homosexuality as a sickness--is left unchecked, too; and so are the presentations of immigrant workers as thieves and of menial workers as stupid and not at the level of a college graduate. We are never told or shown how we are supposed to feel about any of these issues. And while the ambiguity of religion is largely okay in a world of various religious convictions (or lack thereof), I don't see how the rest of the topics can responsibly be treated as a matter of contention.

Yet, I loved Jonathan Groff's acting. I also loved the post-graduate attitude, which signified the place from which the emotional journey of the character began. I can really relate to it, too: the way your own struggles and successes make you feel superior to others. Which is why I was hoping David would learn to appreciate people and see them as his equals--which he partly, arguably, maybe did. But then, what was the point of religion? Why the ambiguity surrounding his sexuality? Did he have a problem with his sexual orientation?

I am just confused by the way the movie ended.

Although Jonathan Groff was brilliant, and C.O.G. was mostly well-written and filmed, I felt that it was cut short. Only 10 concluding minutes could clear a lot of my concerns, if included. But, as it stands, the movie is aesthetically, narratively, philosophically and socio-politically unresolved.

Makes You Want to Die

[dansview · 7/10 · 20 April 2014]

I expected to last 10 minutes and then click off. I thought it would be a comedy. I wound up mesmerized. I approach all films with extreme caution, because I expect either a liberal message, or a Christian one, and I don't want to be manipulated.

This one offered neither. One reviewer mentioned a "nihilist" viewpoint, but I'm not sure about that either, because there were some good people depicted in this film. Hence the world is not hopeless.

The young actor and his older "mentor" were equally great. I rarely say that about anyone. No one could have played their parts any better.

The Oregon scenery was breathtaking, and the music was effective in creating a sense of bewilderment. The decay of the human soul was set amidst the purity of pristine farms, pines, and fog.

The world is a dark place. That doesn't mean everyone is dark and everything is hopeless and doomed. I guarantee you that some factory workers are decent normal people who take pride in their work ethic.

Having said that, the types depicted here were real and do exist in abundance in the real world. That comes as a tough pill to swallow for idealists. We want to believe that the poor are humble and sweet. Actually, many are trash, which is why they stay poor.

And yet we need their labor and their bravery in battle. It's twisted and ironic, but so is the world.

I was expecting this film to trash Christians and Christianity and call them all hypocrites, but that's not what happened. The couple that housed the boy were lovely people, and the church congregants appeared genuinely peaceful and loving.

I could have done without the gay thing, but I think I get it. His mom probably shunned him when he came out, and he felt guilty about who he was, so maybe he thought going out west would change him. Especially with his female friend.

But the gay thing just added a layer of awkwardness to an already awkward situation. Even straight, he would have been a fish out of water.

The final scene was brilliant. His mentor had good and bad within his soul, but ultimately arrogance took over. Christianity often attracts lost souls and sinners, and it's very hard to keep their true nature from rearing its ugly head.

It was a terrific movie. Check it out if you have the patience for character/dialog-driven plots and can tolerate the bleakest view of human nature.

Not what is appears to be

[violetlucy21 · 3/10 · 12 October 2013]

I was really looking forward to this movie. From the trailers it looked funny, mild and sweet. I thought it was going to be about a young man meeting new people and having positive experiences working at an apple orchard. I was wrong. This movie has a few sweet moments but overall, it is grim and bleak. I cannot emphasize this enough. When it is finished, you are left feeling sad and disappointed in humanity. In simple words: this movie is a downer. Really though, if you are looking for a sweet, light hearted movie, you won't find it here. The best thing I can say about the film is that Jonathan Groff is extremely talented and does a great job, but even he can't save this film.

A journey of contradictions

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 4 June 2018]

I just finished watching C.O.G. I am giving it an 8 on the IMDb. Pluses: the editing is perfect-- it knows when to cut to the next scene and when to slow down and let us linger a bit on the characters; and I'd say the performances are a plus-- even the child actors stay in character and seem genuine. Minus: the scriptwriter keeps reminding us how smart the main character is to set him apart from the others, meaning the others are stereotyped as hicks.

Plus or minus: There's no sex in it. A near rape scene but nothing is shown and it's over quickly.

The relationships he has with the people he meets are very interesting. Quirky. Often sincere. Sometimes filled with anger. There's definitely a touch of Steinbeck felt throughout the narrative. The Grapes of Wrath (the novel) is mentioned as the reason he went out west; and the first third of the movie which takes place on an apple farm is a bit like Of Mice and Men, with the men in the bunkhouse.

The movie has no real ending; it's brilliant in that regard; since he's left to journey on to the next place with the next set of situations. There should be a sequel, with more stories from the original source material. Jonathan Groff, the guy who plays David/Samuel the lead character is quite good.

The scene in the church where he becomes a Christian is beautifully and poignantly played. I like how the film shows the contradictions in Christianity and the contradictions in the gay subculture. On that level it's remarkably authentic and bold.

When you stand out, you're not always welcomed

[ganymedes1985 · 6/10 · 24 April 2019]

Good acting builds tension in this unconventional tale about a spoiled guy trying to "live the simpler life" in a very conservative area... almost everybody he meets will confront him about parts of himself he's not comfortable with to face; and that's more or less the best part of this tranquil movie.

Annoying, poorly thought-out Indie flick

[ilikeimdb · 2/10 · 23 June 2013]

I saw this film as part of Frameline 37 in San Francisco. It's ill-conceived right from the start, with a fairly unbelievable plot along with absurd plot details. Strangely, it's full of ersatz emotional depth regarding any important topic (e.g., finding oneself, religious conflict, class wars, sexual coming of age angst, small-town blues). I'd give this film a higher rating if it weren't such a waste of talent, particularly sexy Corry Stoll's. The script starts off with a scatological and absolutely hilarious but totally vacuous and non-contextual bang and continues its vacuous adventure through various contrived setups right until its anti-climatic nihilist end. It's a mushy apple with unattractive worms and I advise not biting.

Interesting Story With Incoherent Subplots

[eric262003 · 6/10 · 16 July 2018]

Jonathan Groff stars in this independent film "C.O.G." which is the same title as the short story by humourist David Sedaris this film is based on. Groff assumes the role as David, an educated Yale graduate who escapes the richness of the New York nightlife and settles in the more roughshod blue-collar factory in Forest Grove, Oregon.

Once he arrives in Oregon, David takes on a series of blue-collar jobs and starts to get a better grip of what it's like to be an outcast in a world that's alien to him. The community live, breathe and eat their jobs like there's nothing else in the world that matters to them a big contrast to the posh lifestyle that David is adjusted to. And though he has his life with many open doors of opportunity, he still wants to find ways to connect to these simpler folk and feels they demand to respect him because he made the effort to educate himself to get ahead.

The film seems to deem through three stages of subplots but it's high questionable if they are or not congruent with the exception of David being the focal character. Corey Stoll plays forklift operator Curly who works at the apple factory with David who feels that he can reveal his true feelings towards David which progressively goes down a darker path. And then there's a subplot involving Jon (Denis O'Hare), a former alcoholic, born-again Christian who takes David as his apprentice and teaches him to sculpt Oregon-shaped clocks.

There's other themes that follow through "C.O.G" like fitting in the job force which David finds very difficult, sexual references which is often seen when David is interacting with Curly, and religion through his interaction with Jon. Though this all sums up to the film as part of the quest for self-discovery for David, the three subplots are handled very fundamentally and never unites with each other in the end.

The movie itself has no polished conclusion which may break from cliche, and leaves us in a cloud of uncertainty. Once Jon discovers David's true intention, he pulls David to the outskirts of town, lets him out of his truck and drives off leaving David off to search for his own endeavours.

So were led to believe that David never did fit into the life that was in this Oregon town, we are left wondering what it was that David discovered during his prolonged stay, if he got anything out of it. The audience gets a bit perplexed as though they missed something along the way, like what did David get out of his journey and where does he go from here?

In an eerie twist of irony, Groff plays a very similar character like does on the series "Looking", with identical vulnerability, narrow-headed arrogant traits. Though it's questionable if Groff's like that in real life, he seems comfortable in playing those roles. Though he can be a condescending jerk at times, you still can find some likable idiosyncrasies in his persona. In the end you do hope all goes well for him and even though life in Oregon didn't do him well, he still has resources that could open doors for him. Though privilege seems to play a theme here, the dimensions are interesting, though not congruent.

Should have never been made

[JJ-Chi · 2/10 · 9 February 2021]

I'm a fan of Jonathan Groff, but this movie was beyond dreadful and should have never been made. The plot is ridiculous, incomplete, nonsensical ...and story has zero meaning or resolution of anything. The only thing worse were some of the characters.

Why this movie was ever made is beyond me. There was nothing to be told here.

Huge waste of time. Awful!

I'm giving 2 stars simply for Jonathan Groff.

The vacancy of questions

[eunvin12 · 5/10 · 12 October 2013]

As written in the instruction, this story starts out with a college(?) student, with a lot going on in his head, heading to an apple farm. The overall images and colors used were beautiful (although there were no graphics). Plus, in someway, the movie powerfully overwhelmed the viewer's emotions. However, as for me, its main idea is nontransparent and irresponsible.

First of all, it is hard to understand the director's main point. There are too many messages in this film. From its beginning till end, it is filled with new topics in constantly changing environment. It concerns problems like family, education, love, society, identity and religion, each and every of them very sensitive and emotionally powerful. I was soaked in by those and the main characters feelings. However, as I was about to concentrate on one on them, it moved on to another.

Second, even though one can figure out the film's point, it does not take any responsibilities. It just leaves out everything in the open, and does not give a closure. Although I admit that there can be a method of letting the audience think, this movie makes them feel hollow. What I mean is that, what good are any messages if they do not mean anything? It would be as meaningless as someone who is blaming one's problems rather than suggesting a solution or at least trying to find one.

I say Profound, you say Pretentious

[TheInbetweener · 9/10 · 21 September 2013]

The instant I saw the boy from Glee on the screen with his college sweater, against a score of staccato claps, I knew this film and the word 'Pretentious' were already entwined till the credits with the muted plucking music.

So as the Backlash B-tch I am, I decided to watch the whole film just to spite that particular stereotype.

God, I'm glad I did! I was born in a religious cult...called C.O.G. So it's kind of unsurprising that I resonated with it. But this film has so much that is human, and raw, and true about it that it has to have some impact on the rest of you. Groff's performance goes from cocky and superior in the most honest portrayal of the usual American postgrad I've seen, to so vulnerable and naive and yearning that my heart felt like it was being crushed. He's as lost, disenfranchised and confused as every other 20-something I know - but it seeps out of his pores and swims in his eyes in a way that's very hard to watch. I guess that's the Millenial Generation, stripped bare and made fun of, yet not looked down on. David is just a boy, not a polarising symbol of a Lost Generation, and the film knows this.

Just a boy. That's why it hurt to see him be taken advantage of, time and again. It hurt even more, for me, to watch him try to find himself and cure his sexual 'sickness' in religion. I have known people like John. They exist. Everyone in this film exists.

I'm not being coherent. This film impacted me that much.

I think you should watch it.

Not all of us in Oregon is this whack!

[fkyoujohnweakland · 4/10 · 8 June 2021]

Watching this film the first time in 2021. Jonathan Groff is still going strong and still an excellent actor!! I only watched because he was the star and because it was filmed right here in the great state of Oregon!! Not all of us are whack jobs! I read the Amazon Prime review. It said it was a comedy. Not hardly. I chuckled a couple times, but that was as funny as it got. That dude Curly.... Oh my good god!! I mean I'm gay but I'd be freaked out also!!! Decent film but I hated the ending!! I'm more of a happy ending kinda guy. Pride month already. Hope we can do something this year!! Our Bears Club has plans!!

Ken L. Nunnemaker.

Springfield, Oregon. Home of The Simpsons.

Once of the worst of pseudo-gay cinema

[nzdarwin-575-916261 · 1/10 · 21 June 2014]

Such as waste of time and money. This film has made it into my "worst of the terrible films list" with its awful script, poor acting, stupid dialog uninspired settings, and silly gay theme. We actually never know what the gay hang-up of the protagonist is and how he will deal with it; his new found buddy Curly is so over-the-top it is laughable (pun intended). The COG theme is absurd and must have come from a horrible personal life experience of the writer (please do not subject your viewers to your hang-ups the next time you write a script or short story; get some professional care). The over-acting made me think everyone in this film was actually bi-polar in real life and was just lucky to be off their medications and be around for a screen-test. In addition, makes me never want to eat an apple again. I have seen some pretty bad gay drama film, but this one is rock bottom ...advice to others: Don't waste your time on this junk.

Numbing

[ikeybabe · 4/10 · 29 March 2014]

Barely worthy of 4 stars - really. This movie started off pretty good. Samuel is running away from something and with all his smarts, he's really pretty stupid about life and people. But then things spiral to nowhere. Samuel's coming of age left me numb and wondering what was the point. The folks he encounters left me numb and wondering so? That's really about it. There's no wrap up at the end. There's no resolution or epiphany. There's just a long road. The only cool thing about the movie is the character's quote at the start about religion being for people who aren't smart enough to understand how the world works. It's a good quote, but after watching the whole movie maybe this guy really did need some religion.

A dichotomous journey through religion and homosexuality

[napierslogs · 5/10 · 1 February 2014]

"C.O.G." is the journey of one man based on the real life journey of writer David Sedaris. David (Jonathan Groff) is an academically-minded man in his twenties who has destroyed every relationship with his own arrogance. He's not entirely aware of it, as he thinks he's on a journey with his girlfriend after they read The Grapes of Wrath and decided to get back to nature. But really his ex-girlfriend had no such journey in mind.

Now on his own, he's determined to be true to himself. This involves sharing his nihilistic, anti-religious views with anyone who dares to have a conversation with him, but not being totally open with his homosexuality.

He finds himself working in an orchard which, as you can guess, involves people who have a relationship with God, people on the conservative side who don't get the gay culture, and people who don't like pedantic intellectuals teaching them about real literature. David doesn't fit in very well.

I loved the first half of the film. The more he mocked religion, the more I loved it. But as David finds himself in trouble (due to not fitting in very well and due to his ability to destroy any relationship he has with his arrogance), the film starts taking on a different tune. One which seems to be the exact opposite of what drew people in in the first place.

While it could just be that I didn't get whatever they were trying to say, the second half of the film seems to go against what people would have liked in the first half. Those that would like the messages in the ending probably would have been turned off by David's first anti- religious rant (which comes in the opening scene). And, to me, that would lead to a film with no audience remaining.

"C.O.G." stands for Child of God and you are going to have to have an extremely open mind to all points of view, both pro and anti organized religion and to sexual orientation, to enjoy this film. I appreciate Jonathan Groff taking on a character like this, but I have a feeling I wasn't supposed to have enjoyed his character as much as I did at the beginning as he moves too far away from that in the remainder of the film.

great acting from Corey Stoll in supporting role

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 11 October 2014]

David (Jonathan Groff) takes a break from his ivy league world for an apple picking job. He's a spoiled, self-assured bookworm. His Mexican co-workers don't understand him. His boss Hobbs (Dean Stockwell) barely tolerates his lack of work ethics. Jon (Denis O'Hare) is handing out religious flyers titled COG. His friend Jennifer is suppose to join him but she leaves the job for a new boyfriend. Curly (Corey Stoll) drives the forklift at the apple plant. After an awkward night with Curly, he abandons his job, somebody steals his money, and he only has Jon to help. He stays with Martha (Casey Wilson) and her family. His atheism, his lack of a love life, his sexuality, and his attitude are all challenged.

I think the story is meant to be quirky comical. However that is not the prevailing sense from director Kyle Patrick Alvarez. Groff's character is too much of an annoying know-it-all. After all, that is the character as written but it would be more effective if he does what he does because of clueless kindness. The one great character is played by Corey Stoll. He does a fun disturbing performance. It's too bad that he's only a supporting character, but he's a good one. This never got funny. Sometimes it got disturbing. It may have even gotten profound although that could argued either way. The ending is somewhat truncated which is problematic for some people. I'm not one of them. Movies don't have to be about resolving something. I just didn't get involved in David's journey.

Beautiful, subtly hilarious, and unexpectedly moving

[ramrock77 · 9/10 · 27 June 2013]

I knew very little about this film when I went into it except that it was inspired in some way by a David Sedaris essay. It surpassed my expectations in a beautiful and lasting way. It's extraordinarily funny - often in surprising ways. Like Sedaris' writing, things just happen, and it's the protagonist's reactions that allow the audience to enter this world of poignant meaninglessness. The characters and situations can be so absurd at times that you wonder what kind of world this is, how realistic or how exaggerated or how cinematic - but then you realize that life can really be like that... Groff does a stellar job playing with an open-minded and humorous pretentiousness. But what I thought was most impressive was Kyle Patrick Alvarez's subtly-brilliant treatment of both sexuality and religion, both of which are such matter-of-fact gray areas in the film that they leave the viewer wondering without ever asking him to. Great film - definitely catch it when it comes out.

a spoiled, self-pitying jerk slums it for a few weeks

[jm10701 · 15 April 2015]

I'd never heard of David Sedaris, and this movie doesn't motivate me to change that. If he's anything at all like the David in this movie, he's a rich, spoiled, shallow, obnoxious, narcissistic, condescending, self-pitying, passive-aggressive jerk. Not the kind of person I want in my life.

I might have liked this movie if only Curly (or Jon, or anybody!) had beaten that you-can't-get-mad-at-me-I'm-just-a-lost-little-boy smirk off his face, but it didn't happen. Too bad. Other reviewers talk about how he grew and changed in the course of the movie, but I guess they saw a different movie. He was a spoiled, self-pitying jerk in the beginning and he was still a spoiled, self-pitying jerk at the end.

I thought I liked Jonathan Groff (he's what drew me to this movie) but the more he plays obnoxious characters like this the more I suspect it may be because he's like them. And Dennis O'Hare is so reliably good that it's surprising how bad he is here. The Christianity shtick in this movie feels completely false, sour and vindictive, like something shoehorned in only to let the writer settle a mean-spirited old grudge.

I stuck with this movie all the way to the end, and the best thing I can say about it is that it did, finally, end. I hated it.

Waste

[edw1976 · 1/10 · 30 October 2022]

Even as a gay man, I found this to be the most depressing and unnecessary, not to mention boring, movie that had anything to do with homosexuality in my entire life.

Corey was the only redeeming actor in this film, and his talent was wasted.

Not every gay man goes through turmoil and hell coming out. Not everybody fights within themselves to be who they are. I, for one, was never a victim, never portrayed myself as one, was never bullied, and there are many, many of us like me out there. No wonder straight people have a hard time dealing with gays as long as stories like these continue to be piped out and forced down people's throats. I was so bored I almost fell asleep. Skip it.

Awful film. Awful lead character.

[MacTheMovieguy · 2/10 · 23 July 2014]

Congratulations to Kyle Patrick Alvarez for writing the least likable protagonist of 2013! Much like the brain dead teenagers in Spring Breakers, David (Jonathan Groff) is painful to watch on screen. Like, banging your head against a wall bad. He's so incredibly pretentious, so incredibly above his experiences, and totally out of touch. He's a preppy rich kid "slumming" it by picking some damn apples. How this movie got made is beyond me. David Sedaris should have said No to this adaptation.

David, as I said earlier, is now picking apples. His friend (Bellisario) was supposed to pick apples with him, but blew him off. He refuses to talk to his mom. And he keeps telling everyone he went to Yale and traveled to Japan, while looking down at them from his throne on Mars. Eventually, he moves from picking in the field to working in a sorting factory. There he meets a crabby woman (Dickey) and what would seem like his only friend in the world (Stoll). That situation goes awry, and he finds himself living with an interesting religious "cult", led by Jon (O'Hare), a man so crazy he might be wise.

If you've made it this far, you should get a cookie. I literally wanted to rip David/Samuel from the screen and throw him into oncoming traffic. I love Jonathan Groff as an actor, but this is like his uppity character from Glee taken into a movie, and amped up a thousand percent. He is actually READING Darwin's ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES. Just in case you didn't think this kid could BE more pretentious. He insults everyone around him, and it is never funny.

What an incredibly talented cast, led completely astray by their director. Groff, O'Hare, Stoll, and Dickey all deserved better than this film. Hell, even Casey Wilson deserved better than this film. Even Troian Bellisario deserved better, and I have no idea who she is. Apparently she's on Pretty Little Liars. Well, even she deserved better. I hated the direction. I felt like we had scene changes just to have scene changes. At one point, David is in town calling someone to pick him up, then he's off at a farm when he's actually being picked up, only to be taken back into town? Stay in town, jerk. Don't make people drive out to get you when you're already almost at your destination.

Awful film. Awful lead character.

POINTLESS

[lanaliliya · 4/10 · 4 December 2018]

I liked the acting and the few funny parts, but this movie was pointless. The ending was the worst part, because nothing happened besides the main character walking down a road. There are so many questions that the ending could've addressed. Did he return home? Did he see his parents again? Did he continue being religious? Did he continue making jade sculptures? Nothing was answered or resolved.

No Satisfaction Whatsoever

[kamille · 5/10 · 4 January 2022]

I love David Sedaris' books, so I thought I would like this movie.

I can't say that I hated the movie. It was interesting to watch. But it was, basically, a series of unsatisfying encounters with unpleasant yokels.

My reason for watching this flick was the anticipation of seeing the "Sedaris" character throw out one witty, acerbic retort after another. Sadly, C. O. G. Is bereft of zingers.

We never got to see John get his due desserts. We never got to see David (aka, Samuel) get back on track with his true sense of self. And we never got to see him reconcile with his mother. He is left on a deserted road in the middle of Timbuktu, as lost at sea as he was at the start of the movie. Senseless. Nothing resolved, nothing learned, nothing gained. While John was spewing venom at David, I was praying for the latter to put him in his place, ala the Sedaris snark. Alas, it was not to be.

what a stupid wimp in a lame screenplay

[rightwingisevil · 6 December 2013]

the stupidities in this wimpy movie are just beyond any way to count. first, we see this wimpy guy on a bus which is more like a doomsday bus to hell instead of going to oregon. the exaggerate scenes of a female fellow traveler sitting beside him, keep yelling, cursing, screaming filthy dirty complaints to him, a total stranger, simply not probable at all. then we see two young people doing the sexual thing in public in front of him and other passengers is another absolutely impossible and exaggerated scene so dramatically arranged to give you some thought-to-be interesting episode on the bus is another crap the stupid screenplay trying to make you believe this film is such an unique crap. BUT IT'S NOT, okay? then we see this wimpy young man, a college graduate, trying to drag a huge and heavy empty gas tank into the remote town from the apple farm, that pathetic arrangement is nothing but stupid. then this guy meets a guy in town trying to sell him the idea of god, the so-called c.o.g. crap but he claims that he is an atheist....the stupidity, unnatural scenarios, improbable exaggerations are on and on. and you dare to tell me that you are more thoughtful and more philosophic that you can always appreciate something stupidities and transform them into profound precious living lessons? givemeabreak, will you.

Young man goes west to find adventure and get's it

[myoubix · 3/10 · 3 August 2014]

Quite a deja vu type of story, à la Jack McCandless sort of. The character is the type of guy that will never know what to do, unless somebody tells him 'go there' 'take this job', etc.

However the portrayal of the people he meets are very representative and true; the ladies at the plant, the born-again middle aged man, etc... They are the type of people you meet every day (altough, you might now have this kind of relationship with the latest).

The video and image quality is great; the scenes in the orchard had this touch of realness... Or was it the dialogues in English then Spanish? Overall adjective: tepid.

Charming, Stylish Adaptation of the Sedaris essay

[ehodapp9 · 9/10 · 19 September 2013]

As a David Sedaris fan, I went to see this movie kinda fearful that it would not do his essay justice. This movie far surpassed my expectations and made me laugh aloud (as reading any Sedaris piece does). This adaptation of C.O.G. was faithful to the spirit of the Sedaris essay, retaining and even adding to its understated, snarky sense of humor.

Jonathan Groff stars as David, capturing a naïve and irreverent guy fresh out of college perfectly. The film opens with a montage of him rubbing shoulders with a bunch of weirdos on a greyhound until he reaches his destination: Oregon. David plans to work on an apple farm in order to experience what "real people" do. Of course, things don't go as planned and unexpected hilarity ensues.

C.O.G. is one of the best new films that I've seen this year. The style and the soundtrack evoke an eccentric yet slightly bleak mood that I really enjoyed. I find that I relate quite heavily to the post-college feelings of uncertainty and aimlessness that David has in the film…as I'm sure many U.S. grads do.