Catch 22, 1970

You are so crazy that you are not crazy

I watched this February, 2006

Plot Summary:  Ummm, yeah. Okay. I will let Netflix try to explain this one. “A cinematic adaptation of Joseph Heller’s scathing black comedy about a small group of flyers in the Mediterranean in 1944. Capt. Yossarian tries to escape the travesties of World War II by convincing his Air Force commanders that he’s crazy. Hilarity ensues, but so does reality as he watches his close friends die in the ridiculousness of war.”

What I Disliked

• I have not read the book, but if the movie sticks to the book, then Heller was too big a fan of “stream of consciousness” writing, just writing down what came to mind rather than worrying about plotting. Very difficult to follow at times.
• It is not authority that makes a war wrong or evil, but rather its motives and objectives. While I am not a true blue pacifist, I am also one who believes most war is an outworking of man’s evil rather than God’s righteousness. This movie really ticked my dad off back in the early 70’s when I first watched it with him on TV.
• I would probably get it better if I read the book, so some of this is on me.

What I Liked

• The humor is great.
• I am a fan of much of Alan Arkin’s work. His audacity should not be enjoyed by me, but it usually is. (See my upcoming review of “Little Miss Sunshine”).

Would I recommend it and to whom?

Yes, but read the book first.

~ by u2isgr8 on March 25, 2008.