adrianroman1111 All the elements of great filmmaking are here in this heartfelt, charming Romantic Drama. The story's strength is rooted in human emotions that finds a wide audience. The screenplay is polished without being totally predictable. The acting is wonderful and I cared about the leads throughout. Many movies miss the mark as they strive for so much they leave their characters behind. This film never forgets what is most important to the audience. It is shot exceptionally well and the color grading is robust and highly cinematic. I come away from watching this well-executed film completely satisfied and aspire to one day shoot something half as good. For indie filmmakers and the general public alike, this is how it's done. The film is a simple gem worth watching several times.

SS Sodhi I had high hopes for this movie before I started watching it. I'm a big fan of Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina and Malin Ackerman (though not so much so Topher Grace). And though the Indie Romance genre may be a bit hackneyed, I've always found enjoyment in the littler things that many of these movies have to offer - artistic cinematography, witty banter, and moments that your average viewer can relate to. This movie, however, was lackluster in all of those previous components.If I were to sum up my experience viewing this film in a sentence, it would be: This film has all the tell-tale signs of being written by a try-hard, vapid, parentally subsidized, film school attending hipster who is too far divorced from reality to convince me that I should feel for any of the protagonists in the film. I know that Lee Kirk is probably far from being that kind of person, but his film conveyed that message to me.Jenna Fischer and Chris Messina star as two aimless (or let's not sugar-coat it, USELESS) adults in their 30s, the former who can't seem to hold down a job, and the latter who is a quarters-per-day street performer who lives in a giant urban loft with his girlfriend who is about to break up with him. Now don't get me wrong, having unemployed, 30+ year old millennials as protagonists have worked well before because through the evolution of the plot, they reveal likable and respectable qualities about themselves. That was not the case in this film. The only thing that they convinced me of, perhaps too many times, is that they "feel lost", they "don't know" what they want to do with their lives, and that they have the angst I'd expect from a 14-year-old at a Death Cab For Cutie concert.The plot of the film focuses on the struggle that these aimless 30 something protagonists have against the antagonists portrayed by the working adults in the film who "have it together" and "have their lives figured out". Since the protagonists by themselves don't give me any reason to like them by themselves, the film resorts to an unbelievably farcical portrayal of the latter cohort that paints them as so lacking in any empathy and emotional maturity that I couldn't help but cringe anytime one of these characters received any screen time: the two cheesy guys in suits publicly bragging about their Christmas bonuses at the company party (seriously, who wears suits to a company party), the hiring manager at the temp agency (who fires Jenna Fischer in such a farcically unauthentic manner that in reality, it would sound 'lawsuit' bells employment lawyers everywhere), and Malin Ackerman's character who won't stop pestering her older sister, and forcing Topher Grace's character on her. And Topher Grace, good grief - what sane working adult would think that an over-the-top narcissistic, corny inspirational speaker who half fills conference centers at your local airport's Holiday Inn is a model of success in this day and age? I've seen more believable exposition in Hillary Duff movies.At the end of all this, I was left wondering - is this the level of comical absurdity you have to relegate employed, marginally successful members of society just so that, in juxtaposition with our worthless 30 something protagonists, we're supposed to identify with them? Sorry, not me.

tieman64 "The so-called consumer society and the politics of corporate capitalism have created a second nature of man which ties him libidinally and aggressively to the commodity form. The need for possessing, consuming, handling and constantly renewing, offered to and imposed upon the people, has become a biological need." - Herbert MarcuseLee Kirk's "The Giant Mechanical Man" stars Chris Messina as a street performer who parodies the drudgery of consumer capitalism by dressing up as a giant robotic man. In love with him is Janice, infectiously played by Jenna Fischer, a middle aged woman who likewise feels out-of-sync with the world. Both characters drift aimlessly through life, finding little value in civilizational offerings and sceptical of the slogans, buzzwords and rituals of those around them. "Man" has been criticised for its one dimensional portrayal of everyone outside of its romantic couple. But that is also the point. Like an indie version of philosopher Herbert Marcuse's "One-Dimensional Man", Lee's portraying a society that has been moulded, institutionalised and preconditioned to accept what is essentially shared psychosis. Lee's characters are obsessed with conquest, acquisition, marketing themselves (and others), and assigning value to everything and anything they touch. Writing for an economic journal decades ago, Albert Einstein would denounce this as man's "predatory phase", but to Janice and Chris, it's nothing less than poison. Everyone else thinks they're nuts.Regardless, "Mechanical Man" struggles to sustain its message. The film eventually devolves into indie-clichés and a terrible final credits sequence in which love and penguins conquer all. The film contains an interesting subplot "about" silent film, and includes a scene in which Janice dons baggy clothes, a sequence which aptly recalls Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times". 7.9/10 – See "Eagle vs Shark", "Ghost World", "Wendy and Lucy" and "Land of Plenty".

branden_burger This is a great movie that doesn't try too hard. Most films don't focus on the lives of people who almost, but don't quite fit in. The first few minutes establish the kinds of characters that the protagonists aren't, and perhaps this part is a little overdone. Barring these few minutes, the rest of the movie is a treat. There's some good music in the soundtrack, very appropriate for the mood it's trying to convey. In this vein, "Remember me as a time of day" by Explosions in the Sky is a great tune to have in the background when things are going well in life, when you've got someone to think about who fits in well with the general scheme of your life or is probably responsible in part for the good bits life has to offer. Subdued, soft lighting, a plausible script that doesn't fight to always be clever or funny, great direction and earnest acting make this movie well worth your an hour and a half of your time.