In Going All The Way the year is 1954, two soldiers meet up while travelling home by train to Indianapolis after two years service. Gunner -- Ben Affleck -- is the sports hero, he`s done his time in Korea and Japan and been affected by it. Which is the only explanation for him wanting to have anything to do with geek Sonny - Jeremy Davis - who`s put in good service in Kansas City in the public information sector. Gunner`s Mom Lesley Ann Warren is a sexy single who treats her son like a date. Sonny`s Mom - Jill Clayburgh - is so apple pie it`s nauseating. We understand why Sonny feels overwhelmed. But the friendship between Sonny and Gunner develops, despite Sonny`s frustration and geekiness and Gunner`s handsome ease in every situation.What`s irritating about Going All The Way is the selfish, self-obsessed central character of Sonny. I mean, not another guys` movie where I`m going to have to go through all those sexual inadequacies again. Jeremy Davis is very good at playing an unsympathetic hero - remember him in Spanking the Monkey? - but he mumbles so you can only understand about half of what he says. It`s such a mean-spirited film, so intent on portraying the family grotesquely, like we`re meant to feel sorry for their boring boorish son. Women are treated badly in Going All The Way... I minded that. The one redeeming feature is Ben Affleck`s Gunner who`s naivete is almost endearing. But then he treats women cavalierly as well. You can see that first time director Mark Pellington may have some talent visually but the material he`s written for this first effort put me very offside -- as you might have gathered.
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