The Monuments Men

is an old-fashioned, overblown, highly theatrical, sappy film that contains way too many speeches and that over-simplifies complex issues and events in the name of making a small band of men appear to be heroes.

I loved it.

I've already covered the film's major flaws.  If you want a politically correct movie, or an historically accurate one, Monuments Men is not for you.  If you hate a film the moment it indulges in schmaltz or tries overtly to tug at your heartstrings, give this one a wide pass.  There's actually quite a lot about this film that should have bugged the hell out of me. 

It just didn't.  Maybe I was in the right mood for it.  Maybe I responded to its look and feel, which helped with the sense that this movie could have been a 1949 piece with better cameras.  I'm not sure I can explain why, but director/writer/star Clooney managed to hit the right notes for me.  I never checked my watch, I responded to every pull on my heart, and at the end I was proud of those men and what they accomplished.

I have to recommend it, even though I expect a lot of folks who heed my recommendation may come away saying, "What were you smoking when you wrote that review?"  Nothing, of course, is my answer; I just loved it.