User reviews

Great little film this, was really surprised. judging by the quality and negativity of some reviews I think you need to have reached a certain maturity level to really appreciate the film.

The branding of Tom Sturridge's character(will Donner) being a creepy stalker really is misleading, I urge people to watch the film instead of jumping on the bandwagon! The pace of the film started a little too slow, potentially causing some later scenes to be rushed that had potential to really add to the film.

Despite this, the supporting cast had enough character building(all be it light) to support the lead of the film that ultimately, has enough to deliver the story and bring a tear anyone's eye! Providing your not going into the film having predetermined the lead as a creepy stalker, you will enjoy this film! :)

I recently saw the first public screening of this movie at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February, 2010.

The beginning of the movie was a bit slow and a little misleading, but I think that is what made the movie so great at the end. It is totally unpredictable. Tom Sturridge was the main character and he is absolutely going to be a new up and coming star after the film is released. Rachel Bilson did a wonderful job as well and the rest of the cast was quite good. It definitely was a tear jerker, you will find yourself blubbering by the end of the film. Overall, feel good movie that will leave you wondering about the little things in life.

Go see it. :)

Oddball Juggler lusts after (FHM's 77th hottest) gal next door (...or close enough), with whom he shared a childhood. Alas, this movie takes off where childhood is no more - so what will become of our pair, for whom time has moved on? In some ways this is an enjoyable, flirty little number; in others, it is the tale of unrequited 'what if's'. Yet, when all's said and done, this movie is not perfect. It's still a reasonably engaging, very human tale. Acting and direction are pretty good.

The protagonist is (just as the poster shows) an unlikely, pyjama loving, bowler hatted someone who can barely afford to live. Such is American cinema that if he should choose to escape his plight, in the usual manner, he'd routinely be found bereft of life, a few scenes later. Instead, he overdoses on dreams of his childhood sweetheart, thus to escape the uncertain pains which life besets upon a man of his standing. Yet we must be prepared to accept that a certain Miss foxy 'hot-thang' would possibly give him more than the time of day/evensong/etc. Or, will she? Indeed, I found it hard to stomach the movie's very premise: that here we have arguably one of the hottest women in America who might even talk with a man whose preoccupation is profitlessly offbeat, to say the least. In his defence, as the marketing blurb will tell you, they shared a childhood. But will that be enough? Again, this is primarily a romance movie, and why should any realities have any potential to ruin the possibilities? Or, do they? Watch and see: I give nothing away.

If you're between 16 & 24, female, or in a relationship, or just romantically inclined, then this movie is for you.

Its rating, currently 6.8/10, is surprisingly on the ball. Most people here have got this one right. And as such it is a movie worth watching. You might even consider it as being like a less garrulous, 'home baked' alternative to Linklater's superior 'Before Sunrise'.

Lastly, I hope that they make a sequel to this movie, by the way, as this reviewer personally felt that its ending left some curious questions open. Will you agree... Please watch and see!

A unique love story about friendship and a view of the world from different perspectives, Waiting for Forever explores the connections people make in the face of life's changes. Best friends while they were growing up, Emma (Rachel Bilson) and Will (Tom Sturridge) lost touch a long time ago-as far as she knows. To Will, Emma never stopped being the most important person in his life. Believing them to be forever linked, he goes wherever she goes. Will doesn't have a home, a car, or a "real" job. He survives on his talent as a juggler and entertainer-talents honed through years of showing off for Emma. When her father gets sick, Emma returns to their hometown, trying to leave behind her complicated love life and failing career as a TV actress. Will follows her and decides to once and for all talk with Emma about his feelings.

Waiting for forever is a sweet little independent film. Perfect to watch with your girlfriend or boyfriend, it's probably a great choice for a first date but it's not much more then that. I kept waiting for the story to took off, for the film to get real and deep, profound but it never happened. It's a very simplistic story and although it is entertaining and moves at a good pace there's never real insight into the characters. In fact, most characters are two-dimensional.

As for the acting, nothing outstanding here but overall satisfactory. Rachel Bilson's acting skills are very limited but she always does an OK job. On the other hand,Tom Sturridge was great. His character was not an easy one but he played it very well. Again, the script is to blame for the character's flaws because as far as the way the role was played, it couldn't have been better. Richard Jenkins and Blythe Danner did the best they could with what they were given. I should also mention the soundtrack which was very good and fitting. Overall, it's a sweet little love story but you shouldn't watch this film with high expectations.

6.5/10

Oh Dear. So here we have a patently harmless, naive, romantic young man "stalking" his love. That is a bit tragic, but hardly as disturbing as the critics would have us believe. Anybody with common sense can tell so much. Will as a real-life person would be annoying at the most. If anybody, including Emma, finds Will threatening, then it is their problem.

In dealing with this film many critics harp on this notion of common sense to deride the main character Will and his behaviour. We readers don't need to reminded by some of these grudge-bearing critics that Will's feelings for Emma should probably lead to great disappointment for him. It is obvious. Whether Will is immature in his love is also not entirely clear, despite what many critics say, because love does not belong in the world of the rational to begin with. Will might be unrealistic to pursue the matter, but literature is full of examples like him and they do not always enjoy the wrath of critics.

So where does all this ill-feeling towards Will come from? Perhaps critics feel mocked by the struggling artist Will over the precariousness of their own existence. Here's another theory: Essentially Will stands for a less materialistic way of life. Will is someone who might well adapt better in a more simple society than most critics would. If more people would live like him, the result would be lower levels of industry, especially in the media area, which might then become a craft again. This might actually not be a bad thing, though we'd miss out on a lot of soap operas. But these ideas are politically incorrect. Most critics would quickly have to change in such an environment, perhaps to their detriment. They are all too aware of this. They should stand by their shallow interests openly, rather than trash a nice idea from behind the veil of culture.

i would have never seen this movie because of its ratings here. but the lead actress has the face very similar to girl i liked secretly for last 19 months. i searched for Rachael Bronson movies after i saw her in jumper. and waiting for forever seemed perfect.

it really moved me in spite of having similar character as me having his own reasons for the similar situation he had in movie as me. maybe because its the magical touch of the director to the character that he is so likable even if haven't really achieved anything in (traditional sense) in life to tell others. its similar to the our idiot brother feel but in most romantic way so more likable.

even people in the small roles are likable. i am keeping this movie in my hard drive forever for you know what occasion ;)

watch it with you loved once and don't miss it if you have an awesome love story of your own with your partner.

This is one of those movies you watch all the way through because you think it's going to get better. When the characters cry or feel any sort of emotion, you just wonder why because they are so underdeveloped and you are not able to empathize whatsoever. Rachel Bilson isn't great, neither is the main character actor. Also, the guy who plays her boyfriend Aaron is lacking skills as well. He play the character of Alaric on Vampire Diaries, and I actually like him there, but here naahhht so much.

The acting is sub par, the plot is lacking, and it kind of feels like a waste of what seemed to be a good idea in the beginning. Definitely not the worst movie I've seen, but definitely not that great either.

Now let me start off by saying that I am not into romantic movies whatsoever. They are always the same clichéd sappy crap with an overly dramatic lead that becomes more annoying than anything by the end of them. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE WITH "WAITING FOR FOREVER"

I was lucky enough to attend Gen Art film festival this year in New York and was able to see this movie. I honestly had no idea what I was getting into or what it was about and it really surprised me! I honestly can say that at no point in the movie was I ever bored; from the get going of the flashback train sequences until the ending scenes I was enthralled with the movie. I was right there with Will and his struggles to show his enduring love to Emma.

The acting was fresh and superb. Tom Sturridge had so much on screen charisma and a believable carefree attitude that I found myself rooting for him the entire time. It is nice when you ACTUALLY like to watch the protagonist of a film! He is surrounded by an incredible supporting cast where I really think that Blythe Danner gives the performance of a lifetime (I smell Oscar nod). The always lovable Richard Jenkins has the best moments in the movie and a surprisingly strong performance by Scott Mechlowicz. At first glance I was like "why is the kid from EuroTrip in this" and after the movie I felt like a putz for ever thinking that statement. He is the voice of everyone in the audience in the movie.

This is also a movie that doesn't have cheap entertainment of constant swearing, blood and guts, gratuitous nudity, etc. It solely focuses on telling the story and making us like the characters for themselves. I think that is a rare statement made by films today and this one should be applauded for it.

Waiting For Forever is a cute, quirky movie with a lot of heart. It does a great job at making you feel happy, with its high contrast lighting and fun soundtrack. The cast does a great job at pulling you in, especially Tom Sturridge. He does a wonderful job portraying the carefree traveling street performer, but also brings on the strong emotion when it's needed. The use of flashbacks and the way Tom's character describes his young love really have you rooting for their love to blossom once again. The story gets a little confusing and slow towards the middle but the strong beginning and ending definitely make up for it.

This movie was so horrible i couldn't help but watch it in its entirety. A story about two childhood friends who later in life reunite. One a Hollywood actress and the other an unemployed juggler who lives life on a whim. What seemed to be a novel idea and two characters destined for romance had some how gotten lost along the way. Its as if someone took a perfectly good script and removed all of the wind from its sails. The actors themselves looked lost in this one and the characters all lacked identify. The lead actor appears to be suffering from extreme psychosis and you wonder all along when the intervention is going to happen. How this film is dubbed romantic is news to me. To me, this was a film on based on the human psyche and how those with deeply rooted, traumatic, and emotional pasts socially interact with others. They struggle to find themselves any sort of help and never really gain a full grasp on reality. I wish the film taken to the cutting room floor, because I think it could have been salvaged. On a final note, the character Rachel Bilson's father in the film seemed unexplained. Heh says he's dying all along the way with his family convinced he's fine. I've seen this before in a production called "the room" a cult classic best known for how horrible and explained the movie was. Rachel Bilson's character is only shining light in this movie and deserves a second chance after this one.

I have to say that it came as a shock that Waiting For Forever was an ACTUAL, REAL LIFE, love story. The movie itself kept me hanging on to the tail end of every scene, waiting to see what would happen next. All in one sitting, I smiled with heartfelt happiness, I became filled with anger, and I cried uncontrollably with feeling of deep sorrow. This is what TRUE LOVE does to us as people, and I must say that this movie captured the very essence of it...

If I could, I would take a group of my closest friends to see this movie. It's definitely a great conversation piece. The vivid imagination of the director is clearly represented throughout, capturing not only your attention, but focus on detail as well. I would see this movie ten times again...

MUST SEE - GREAT LOVE STORY!

I was actually very pleasantly surprised at the plot of this movie. I thought it would be one of those predictable, over the top love stories but it really wasn't. It was very SWEET and caring and very much how young love seems, cautious and with mistakes made in each persons life. This is hard to explain without ruining great moments in the film- but it is well worth the watch. Of course one has to mention the INCREDIBLE acting of Tom Sturridge, totally blew me away. Rachel Bilson was great also as usual. There are some twists in the film that one may or may not see coming but it was tied together very well in my opinion. The dialogue was fresh and just... airy and light. There was no unnecessary cheese added to proclamations of love. It was all honest and very soul baring. Beautiful film.. Definitely recommending it to all my friends. -saying this as a film major also.

Uhm ... cringe. This is some treacly BS (bull-something)... and that is me being kind.

While the film, Waiting for Forever, tries to act as if it has an original and new concept -- uber-innocent love of an uber-innocent mind -- the truth is that it doesn't. It is about a guy (Tom Sturridge - Pirate Radio) who likes a girl (Rachel Bilson - Jumper, "The OC") ... and has secretly followed her around the country (Pennsylvania, Oregon, San Francisco to LA) for YEARS because "he'd rather wake-up in the morning with a possibility of seeing her than not seeing her". ALL while NOT letting her know he watches for her EVERY day ... you, know, like a NICE stalker!

If you decide to watch this, I'd recommend Kleenex and a vomit pan. The film's purported message might be a bit sweet; but the film as presented is NOT -- it is cloying and manipulative.

It is a poorly-made film as the movie's scenes were written with just enough dialogue to "open scene" and "end scene". The characters are poorly written and paper thin who don't even know what-it-is they speak of -- as our main character's older brother talks about things not being "peachy" while he sits poolside near his lovely wife, surrounded by their healthy kids in the backyard of his suburban mansion(!). An out-of-place sentence like this -- "a ridiculous murder sub-plot is one of the furthest-reaches I have ever come across in cinema" -- is even more out of place in a film like this!!!

I'm not sure what made Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents, Sylvia) or Richard Jenkins (The Visitor, Eat Pray Love) sign up for this maudlin sham of a film -- but it is truly something when neither of their presences can even marginally-salvage a film production.

Avoid this ... I can most definitely wait for forever to ever watch it again.

What a load of crap!!! Seriously, I've had bowel movements more entertaining than this. If I were on death row and I had a choice between watching this movie and going straight to the electric chair... I live where this was filmed and am ashamed for my city and state. Please oh please write more reviews to warn others. Is the bottom of the barrel so dry in Hollywood that this project was green-lighted? It would be a disservice to the community to allow unsuspecting individuals to hit the play button on this movie. It would be a waste of bandwidth to download this travesty of cinema. Anyway, do yourself a favor and get a frontal lobotomy before watching this. You have been warned!!

I'll be honest, I only bothered watching this movie because of Rachel Bilson. However, it was not at all the chick flick I expected it to be. Actually, I would say that it's not a chick flick at all. What it is is one of the saddest movies I've ever seen. Not sad in the "Hachi" or "Green Mile" sense where it's a tear-jerker because it had incredibly sad scenes. It's more sad in a depressing and realistic way where the foundation of the movie is essentially how life kinda sucks and is very hard and isn't all "peachy". Is there a love story mixed in? Sure, but there's a love story mixed into a lot of movies, TV shows, and even video games so I don't think "love story = chick flick" automatically. I thought the acting was solid, the story was very original and well told, and the development of the characters and plot was outstanding. The story was incredibly slow and I thought the ending of the movie went against what the purpose of the plot was all about so they kind of sold out there but it was still a solid movie. It's not great by any means of the imagination and most people might not have the patience to allow themselves to get wrapped up into the film but it's a much better movie than all of those soulless critics made it out to be.

I like love stories, but the good ones, and this one is different but in a good way, Tom Sturridge's performance is really good i've never seen this actor before, but i think he is really good actor, i believed every second of his performance, i felt simpathetic for his character.

Rachel Bilson gave a really decent acting, and i have to say she is gorgeous.

I can tell you that you will love this love story, all those love suckers, romantics, will love it i am sure.

Give it a try, it's one of those movies of "love conquers all, and true love lasts forever, and all that stuff", is refreshing, is good.

It is very unfortunate to know that this movie is hated by critics. I have been living in India and I know what kind of a movie should be called a bad movie. I never heard much about the movie because there is no promotion of this movie what so ever in my part of the world....But it surely came to me as a surprise.

Both the actors worked pretty well. Tom Sturridge has a potential to be a very good actor. He played his role very well and his expressions were outstanding. There was no point in the movie where i could find his skills go blunt.

Rachel Bilson--We always knew a bit of her after she appeared in How I met your Mother for a couple of episodes and she seemed pretty and cute. She carried her pretty smile and nice acting in this movie too. At some places, her acting suffered but I won't blame her for that as her co-actor was wonderful. She played her part brilliantly and 95 minutes passed away.

The only reason I didn't give a 10 to this movie is that it didn't show too much of the couple. They had their share of scenes separately but they should have been together in more scenes as their chemistry was blossoming.

On and all...its a 9/10 for sure and it is a mice cute love story with meaningful dialogues.

A dreamer is without a job has been in love with a woman named Emma Twist (Rachel Bilson) most of his life, sets out to find the young actress, so he can tell her how much he loves her. Unfortunately his brother (Scott Mechlowicz) thinks he needs help, and people tend to judge him harshly. Emma has issues of her own with a couple of dysfunctional parents, especially her Dad (Richard Jenkins) I saw this a few months ago. I was bored, and in the mood for something romantic to watch. I chose this, and went in with very low expectations. It ended up exceeding the expectations I had, and I shut it off with a smile on my face. The character of Will (Tom Sturridge) will probably have people divided with what they think about him. Personally, I liked his naive character. It was very pleasant, and he was such a good hearted soul, I couldn't help but like him. I think many of us, including myself have often been confused of what they truly wanna do for a living. I managed to empathize with that. Rachel Bilson is cute as a button, and a woman I would do anything to be with. I related to what she was going through, and understood her actions. You'll love her. Richard Jenkins & Blythe Danner are excellent as the parents of Bilson's. The ending is really heartwarming and you'll feel very happy after it

Final Thoughts: It's just a nice romantic film for whenever you're in the mood. It's innocuous fun, and these days that's all I look for. Recommended

7.4/10

Okay, this movie is really bizarre. I wouldn't say it's necessarily bad, but it's really strange that the creators try to sell it as a romance. In order for anything about this movie to make any sense, you have to look at it as a drama, NOT a romance. The main character, wandering hopeless romantic Will, clearly has some sort of mental illness, likely related to the trauma of losing his parents at a young age (not a spoiler). He has the emotional maturity of a small child, but the movie seems to play it off as whimsical idealism: he's mostly portrayed not as a seriously deluded man but as, for lack of better term, a manic pixie dream boy. The audience is evidently supposed to find it charming that a man of 25 has no job, wears the same dirty clothes every day, and spends his life stalking his childhood friend without her knowledge, fantasizing about their nonexistent relationship. The only person privy to Will's mental instability is his older brother Jim, who is made out to be the no-fun bad guy for merely pointing out the truth about Will.

The movie is semi-enjoyable in the context of a drama dealing with mental illness, unsettling and dysfunctional if you're expecting a romance. Will is a creepy character; there's no way around it.

"Waiting for Forever" is actually a good movie, just don't expect it to be yet another teenage romantic love comedy movie, because it is far from it.

This movie is quite deep on an emotional level, and the movie really works out so well because of the talent of Tom Sturridge (playing Will Donner). This is actually high-class drama.

I found "Waiting for Forever" to be rather surprising, because it appeals to your more humanly nature and your sense of hope. The story reaches in and touches your heart. If not the story of Will, then the story of Emma's parents. But of course, there are many aspects to this movie aside from Will's obsession with Emma. There is also the childhood trauma, the strained brother relationship, not fitting into the world, and so forth. And all these small plots work well and come together for a greater end result.

The cast in "Waiting for Forever" was quite nice. There is no doubt that the entire movie is riding on the shoulders of Tom Sturridge. He does an amazing job in portraying Will. His acting is emotional and sweeps you up for a ride. This guy has a bright future in movies, in my opinion. Richard Jenkins made a nice appearance as Emma's father, Richard Twist, who is bedridden and ill. Rachel Bilson also did a good job with the role of Emma Twist.

All in all, then "Waiting for Forever" is a fantastic movie that is full of emotion, rich in love and a movie that will stick with you for a long, long time. I was pleasantly surprised by the movie, and if you haven't seen this movie yet, get yourself in gear and watch it. You owe it to yourself, because this drama is fantastic.