LOL

2006

1 hr. 21 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

100%

11 Reviews

Tomatometer

33%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Through the use of their technology, three men's lives are examined.

Read More

Read Less

Apple TV

Rent LOL on Apple TV, or buy it on Apple TV.

cesare m

It may have been groundbraking at the time, but it doesn't age well, even after ten years or less

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It may have been groundbraking at the time, but it doesn't age well, even after ten years or less

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Blow Up - Txt Speak Remix

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

jack c

gets some points for those inventive 'musical' interludes that brought me back to the theme song for Nickelodeon's 'Doug', however that doth not a movie make! Swanberg is hit or miss with me, and this is mostly a miss, with a few interesting beats and a few phone calls that ring of real life in a good way.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There is a thin line between genius and lunacy. LOL cross that line. LOL has an interesting concept. It's a message movie about how cellphones and computers and technology are ruining our lives. However, LOL goes about telling this message in a truly awful way. I get that LOL is a stylized film. I admire that it was shot for a $3,000 Budget in Standard Definition. Its a creative film. But creativity and resourceful filmmaking isn't all that's needed to make a good film. LOL's problems come in its terminally slow pace, and unlikable characters. LOL follows the lives of a group of people whose lives are intertwined in a number of ways. One by one, technology comes between them. Or so you would think. The truth is, in order to show that technology ruins lives, you have to make good people go bad. Not annoying jerks go worse. None of the leads are likable. They are nasty to each other, and all of their issues in relationships could simple be solved if they just stopped being jerks. Sure, computers and phones come between them, but the personalities of the characters are so self-centered that they all would have ended up in the same bad place anyway. I spent the entirety of LOL groaning internally at the stupidity of the characters. I couldn't connect to any of the male characters, because of the previously mentioned personality issues, and the female characters were so unexplored and fleshed out. There are three females in the movie, and they are all so one dimensional. They are there so the males have someone to have relationship issues with. One woman never even appears in person. She is only heard through phone conversations and seen in pictures. While I realize that this was a creative choice meant to represent the disconnect created by technology, it created a disconnect with me, and I felt extremely detached. LOL has some good parts. Some of the dialogue is funny, and the transitions (which I won't go into detail about, in case you do decide to watch the film) are creative, even if they get repetitive. Overall, LOL is a dis interesting trip through the lives of a bunch of obnoxious, self-centered people who I hated. Maybe you'll like it. I certainly didn't.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Another one of the mumblecore movies that was painful to watch because of how much I could see myself in the characters. These are all guys who are heavily into IMing, texting, and online chatrooms. They have wonderful people in their lives who are nice and are interested in them but somehow these men end up choosing technology or the fantasy/prospect of a prettier, nicer girl over their partners. Long distance relationships and technology are also addressed, this was the part that seemed particularly real to me. Overall a good movie, I would have to watch it again in a few years and see how my opinion changes.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Joe Swanberg

Director

Joe Swanberg

Tim

C. Mason Wells

Chris

Kevin Bewersdorf

Alex

Brigid Reagan

Ada

Tipper Newton

Walter

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

RT on DVD: Blades of Glory, Air Guitar Nation, and Heroes: Season 1 Arrive!

Critical Consensus: "Invincible," "Worms" Score; "Idlewild," "Beerfest" Mixed

SXSW: Short Reviews of "The King," "The OH in Ohio," "LOL," and "Maxed Out"

View more photos

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

[The film] captures relatable 21st-century truths in small, excruciating moments.

Rated: B

Aug 10, 2008

Full Review

V.A. Musetto

New York Post

Joe Swanberg -- who directed, edited, lensed, co-wrote and played one of the lovelorn characters -- has done wonders with a nothing budget and a personable cast of nonprofessional actors.

Rated: 3/4

Aug 25, 2006

Full Review

Nathan Lee

New York Times

The inability to connect in a hyper-wired world is old news given fresh voice in this tragicomic indie about the way we live.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 22, 2006

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Swanberg's minimalist satire takes aim on his generation of techno-geeks, for whom electronic gadgets are a curse worse than booze, gambling and whores. An entertaining, light look at the diversions of the mobile phone...

May 21, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A somewhat diverting tragicomic low-budget (supposedly made for $3,000) indie.

Rated: B

Jul 7, 2013

Full Review

Karina Longworth

Cinematical

If Kissing On The Mouth wanted to remind us that sex is something that happens in the real world, LOL wants to show us how and why it doesn't.

Feb 1, 2008

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Through the use of their technology, three men's lives are examined.

Director: Joe Swanberg
Screenwriter: Kevin Bewersdorf, Joe Swanberg, C. Mason Wells
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 1, 2017

Most Popular at Home Now