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Created Oct 26, 2009 07:12AM PST • Edited Oct 26, 2009 07:12AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Barely OK 2.0

   I will say right off the bat that The Secret is a move that does not live up to its potential. I had no idea what the movie was going into it, but by the end I felt let down and really empty about what had happened. The reason this movie didn’t take off, for me, comes down to the actors.

   Spoiler Alert
   The Secret is a pretty straightforward movie in terms of plot. A mother (Lily Taylor) and daughter (Olivia Thirlby) are in a car accident. While in the hospital, both die, but the daughter miraculously comes back to life after being pronounced dead. The catch? Well, its the mother’s mind in the daughters body. What follows is a very heavy look at what would really happen from that point. Mother is still very much in love with the Father (David Duchovny) and wants to be with him, but of course he’s not going to sleep with the body of his 16 year old daughter. Mother and Father decide that she should still live Daughter’s life in case she comes back and Mother is pushed out. But in living her daughter’s life, she finds that her daughter is into drugs, sex, and said very mean things about her mother to her friends. On top of all that, Mother now sees a chance to live the life she gave up in order to raise a child.

   It is some very heavy stuff to deal with and interesting ideas to approach, but the cast is just not good enough to carry it. It comes off more awkward than anything else and by the end it feels like a Lifetime movie rather than a major theatrical release.

4. Acting

   Barely OK 2.0

   David Duchovny was bad. I didn’t really expect much from him to begin with (I think he’s great in comedies, but have never been blown away by his acting), but even with low expectations, he came off as really dead.

   Olivia Thirlby was actually the best of the bunch. The only problem is that she is so young that she doesn’t have a lot of emotional baggage to bring to the table. I have to give her credit because she was very brave in what she did and came across confident at all times. Even in her attempted seduction of Duchovny she pulled it off. She’s a good actress, but she doesn’t grab you and pull you in like she needed to for this movie. Give her another 5-10 years and she could be great.

5. Male Stars Bad 1.0

6. Female Stars Good 3.0

7. Female Costars Bad 1.0

8. Male Costars Barely OK 2.0

10. Film

    Very Good 3.5

    Nothing bad, but nothing entirely memorable either.

11. Direction Very Good 3.5

12. Play Very Good 3.5

13. Music Very Good 3.5

14. Visuals Very Good 3.5
15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 1.8

    Some swearing and a few sexual situations, but nothing extreme. No nudity or violence. Also some drug use.

17. Sex Titillating 2.5

18. Violence Gentle 1.0

19. Rudeness Salty 2.0

21. Reality

    Supernatural 4.0

    The mother’s soul trapped in the daughters body long enough to really know what her daughter is going through and finish up her life before moving on. Many would like to believe that this could happen, but for me I’m going to say its about as likely as a dude who turns into a giant green monster and smashes up Tim Roth.

22. Circumstantial Supernatural 4.0

23. Biological Supernatural 4.0

24. Physical Supernatural 4.0