Title: Bliss
MPAA Rating: R
Director: Mike Cahill
Starring: Owen Wilson, Salma Hayek, Nesta Cooper
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

What It Is: Greg Wittle (Wilson) is a recently divorced man who’s just lost his job. When he meets mysterious stranger Isabel everything changes. He’s dragged into a world of drug abuse, a slope he was already sliding down, now he isn’t sure what’s real and what isn’t. Isabel explains that the world they live in. A broken, almost dystopian existence is nothing more than a computer simulation. His life, his family all of it is nothing more than numbers run through a system…or is it?

What We Think: If ever there were a poster child film for the phrase “waste of time” well this is it. Incomprehensible writing and wholly unlikeable characters. Owen Wilson feels…I don’t know lost? Like he doesn’t belong in this film. My beloved Salma is completely miscast here. She’s on a bad streak. Her last film we reviewed Drunk Parents was a catastrophe. Why Amazon (who has such a decent reputation) decided to go with this one is puzzling. It featuring none of what makes Amazon’s choice so interesting. It isn’t a stellar debut, it doesn’t feature the biggest name cast, it doesn’t have the comedy chops. So my biggest question is why? Nonetheless, with bland and nonsensical writing this bliss is one to miss. Even more so than the 2019 film of the same name. Which has many MANY different problems.

Our Grade: D-, This is the type of stink that doesn’t wash out. The lack of care that went into the subpar material is almost inexcusable. That this was splattered all over Amazon Prime Videos UI is a bigger testament to the support this film got. And yet Sound of Metal (a much MUCH better film) isn’t garnering near the attention outside the award circles.