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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PSU chapter.

It’s not the kind of movie that I usually enjoy, but after seeing so many mixed opinions about it I had to give it a try. To be honest, now that I’ve watched it, I’m still not sure what my opinion is.

So, before I explain why that is, let’s talk about the plot. 

 

The mix of comedy, crime and action in this movie tells the story of Marla Greyson (Rosamund Pike), a legal guardian who scams her elderly wards. However, the latest ward she tries to swindle, Jennifer Peterson played by Dianne Wiest, proves to be more than meets the eye. Greyson finds herself in trouble. 

 

Some of the highlights of the film include the incredible cast, which includes names such as Peter Dinklage, Dianne Wiest, Eiza Gonzáles and Pike herself. Each of these cast members delivered great performances. The actors’ talents brought an overall OK movie to a new realm. 

Another highlight is the movie’s fashion. Every single of one Marla’s and Fran’s (Gonzáles) outfits were incredible. Whoever was responsible for the movie’s costume did a great job. I want all of the outfits to myself. 

 

clothes on rack
Photo by Duy Hoang from Unsplash

After stalking the IMDB website for a while, I saw that the movie’s director and writer is a man, J. Blakeson, which explains the superficial “women can” tone that I noticed in the movie. 

 

Blakeson tried to add a somewhat feminist vibe to the movie, but I found that  it fell short. 

 

The plot itself builds an interesting arc that keeps the audience on their toes. The audience never really knows what will happen next, even if the plot is somewhat cliche.

 

My favorite part about the plot was the romance between the characters Gonzáles and Pike. As someone who consumes a lot of LGBTQ+ content on media, I like that the queer romance wasn’t the central aspect of the plot. 

 

Don’t get me wrong, I thouroughly enjoy queer coming of age movies, but sometimes it’s nice to consume media about queer people doing things that are unrelated to their sexuality. 

 

However, there weren’t any other aspects of the plot of “I Care a Lot” that made me think it was an incredible movie. Maybe my own high expectations ruined it for me, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

 

Woman in White Bed Holding Remote Control While Eating Popcorn
Photo by JESHOOTS.com from Pexels

 

I won’t spoil anything, but the movie’s potential to be great was let down by a not-so-great ending. As I mentioned above, I’ve seen many mixed opinions about the movie, and most of those opinions were related to the movie’s ending. 

 

I didn’t like the ending at all. In my opinion, it was too obvious. The last five minutes turned a good movie into a less than decent one. I think I would have an overall better opinion about the movie if the ending had been different. 

 

In sum, the actors delivered a great performance that made the movie enjoyable. It has a “be gay do crime” vibe to it, which I appreciate. The potential to be a great movie was wasted. 

“I Care a Lot” is not an incredible movie, but if you have free time I think it’s worth a watch.

Rafaela (she/her) is a senior at Penn State, majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Journalism and Sports Studies. She spends too much time listening to Taylor Swift and reading romance novels.
Arden Ericson will graduate Penn State in May of 2023. As one of the Campus Correspondents for Her Campus at PSU, she is a double-major in Public Relations and French Language. After graduation, she will pursue a career that combines her passion for educational equity, social justice and French.