the full page ad in the local art and entertainment weekly exalt the squid and the whale a and marvelous . fresh and fierce . exhilarate . sharply comical and but it be none of those thing . my date and i saw the film last night and in a theater fill with sophisticated film buff . there be an occasional chuckle and an isolated laugh and here and there and but there be mostly an uncomfortable silence throughout the film . we all collectively squirm in our seat and look at one another and wince when the preteen frank masturbate in the school library and then wipe his semen on some book on the shelf . who would find this humorous . it be a badly conceive scene and do in bad taste and only to be touch upon again later in the film . the homosexual and pedophile market will find this film exhilarate . the squid and the whale look a if it be write in two week and while high on coke or something turn in by a college sophomore and who pull an all nighter on the last day to write an assignment . the term and assman be use repeatedly and each time remind me of a classic episode of seinfeld . if writing be to be original and you can not go around lift catch phrase from sitcom . the acting be understate throughout and with the exception of laura linney occasional shriek and raise eyebrow . the film sudden end be a relief .