Collateral Beauty (2016), PG-13, ★

What did they see in this script that would be so good?

Ok...here we go with this review because I am speechless after viewing this film. I was actually into the first trailer's tone and theme as it probably tried to encourage that this may be a Christmas film because it is about a man who has lost his child to an accident and that is a seriously sad topic to address in a film because we would not want to have anybody in the audience be sad. However, when watching the movie, I was caught off-guard as to how the plot will unfold and when it does unfold, the movie's attempted spirit and tone of the movie changed from being a feel-good holiday film to a morally fraudulent and reprehensible piece of nonsense.

I usually do not post spoilers regarding the plot but I have to address it just to let you all know what you have to deal with if you want to see this movie...so, SPOILERS. (Trust me, you may not want to watch the movie. Actually, it is a public service to say you should not watch the movie.) Howard (Will Smith) was a charismatic and brilliant advertising executive lifting up people's spirit at the beginning of work day or just in general. But, three years later, Howard has become emotionless since the death of her child from cancer two years ago and has now distanced himself from his ex-wife to his business partners to his co-worker, playing with dominoes.

Howard, in his free time, sits at a park bench writing letters to Love, Time and Death. Now, brace yourself because this movie is going to get weird. His fellow co-worker, Whit (Edward Norton) has been cheating on his wife with another co-worker and a private investigator, Sally (Ann Dowd) uncovers the affair. So, to make sure Howard looks incompetent at the company since he owns a major stake at the company, Whit, Claire (Kate Winslet) and Simon (Michael Peña) hire the same investigator to know what they are getting into as she uncovers the letters to Love, Time and Death to them as Claire replies it is therapeutic.

So, Whit goes to a theater company to hire actors named Brigitte (Helen Mirren), who will be cast as Death, Amy (Keira Knightley), who will be cast as Love and Raffi (Jacob Lattimore), who will be cast as Time to help guide Howard through his grief by simply addressing the same grievous letters to  him. WHAT?!?!? But, what is even more baffling is that Whit, Claire and Simon problems of their own and their teamed up with the same cast members as they all have personal problems of their own. And, also, if nothing will work, his "friends" will erase the three actors from the investigator's video recordings of him communicating with the three actors to make him look crazy. Howard, meanwhile, meets with a guidance counselor for parents with dead children named Madeleine (Naomie Harris) to question his own muted sadness and insanity.

Come on, guys, let's destroy his reputation. 

*facepalm*

I don't know where to begin with this movie. This movie is contrived as it manipulates us with tampering emotions as Will Smith's character has to deal with his pain but we have to go along with Norton's, Winslet's and Peña's character as they have to deal with their own pain and even though one  additional character's is a little sad, the two others are simply ridiculous and awful friends. You know what, all three are terrible friends because they are all hatching a plot to have Howard look insane as they have to overcome their own issues. The movie is not entirely about Howard, it's mostly about the three co-workers as they pair up with the actors.

Will Smith is trying his best to give a good performance and he was better when he was charismatic in the beginning but when he is moping and sad, it's tough to watch and the character becomes one-dimensional. Edward Norton looks a little aloof and tired as he is trying to deal with the fact that his daughter is not talking to him. There's not much room for Michael Peña's character to develop as his one hidden secret just is solely the fact. Kate Winslet's character's problem could have been solved years ago. Keira Knightley plays an innocent character most of the time and Jacob Lattimore does not give a good performance. I thought Helen Mirren and Naomie Harris give good performances, though.

Writer Alan Loeb and director David Frankel, whose movie, The Devil Wears Prada, was actually fun, gives us some twists and turns to basically cheat us with our emotions and with the screenplay itself. It does not play fair with the characters as most of the characters are unlikable or solely one-note. This is a dishonest, egotistical and selfish way of persuading us to weep for these characters as the writer and director earns our utter disscontempt and disgust for this so-called "festive treat" for the holidays. It is a lump of coal for our eyes and our hearts to see so much talent to be trapped in this hell-hole.

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