The End of the Tour is set for limited release on July 31. The movie has earned great reviews, even Oscar buzz, at Sundance Film Festival and other select screenings.

Some of The End of the Tour was shot in the radio studios and offices of Townsquare Media Grand Rapids, which is home to 100.5 The River97.9 WGRDChannel 95.7Greatest Hits 98.7 WFGR and 1410 AM The Touch.

A few of Townsquare Media's DJs got an early look at the film. Here are their reviews.

The End of the Tour stars Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel and is the story of the travels of novelist-writer David Foster Wallace (Segel) at the end of a 1996 book tour accompanied by Rolling Stone‘s David Lipsky (Eisenberg).

WGRD's Ned

The End of the Tour is a thought evoking film, with the chemistry between Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg being the most noticeable thing about the movie. If these two actors couldn’t work together, the movie would be hard to watch, but they mold really well. It keeps you wondering what Segal is going to say next about life, and makes you think about what he is saying can relate to your world.

It’s not a funny movie, action, drama, etc. It’s a movie with creative writing that just makes you sit back and think, ‘Huh.’

If you live in Grand Rapids, you can’t help but do your best to keep pointing out the familiar areas, especially if you work in a certain radio station.

If your expecting to be blown away, that’s not going to happen, but you will walk away with a different perspective and appreciation for creative writing and great acting, which is what we need in a film industry full of remakes and flashy colors.

My favorite part of the movie has to be when Segel’s character mentions how technology is moving so rapidly and so efficiently, that it is teaching us how to be alone, which hit me hard and if you are a person who is addicted to your phone, it will hit you too.

Ending thought? Go see it, and enter the theater with an open mind and a spongey brain to soak in the great dialogue.

Channel 95.7's Wendy Reed

I wasn’t sure what to expect going in to the theater to watch The End of the Tour, and I was pleasantly surprised by what unfolded in front of me over the next hour and 45 minutes or so.

The chemistry between Jason Segal and Jesse Eisenburg is palpable, and seeing the two men on screen, being as fidgety and awkward as they could be (a thing that would normally make me uncomfortable) really brought the whole movie together.

The dialogue is tough. There are a lot of ten-dollar words littered throughout, but what else would you expect in a movie about two writers?

Jason Segel blew me away with his portrayal of David Foster Wallace – the man who couldn’t escape the spotlight, that he once thought he wanted. Wallace is portrayed as most who met him described him – a brilliant mind inside of a man who often times projected almost child-like qualities.

Credit must also be given to the screenwriter Donald Marguiles. The book the end of the tour is based off of, David Lipsky’s All Though Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace, is mostly interviews and recordings, and was published after Wallace’s death. But Marguiles managed to pull it all together and a well-written, and, at times, very amusing film.

A bonus: if you live in Grand Rapids, you’ll find yourself looking at a ton of familiar scenery and buildings including the Grand Rapids skyline, 28th St., the JW Marriott, and the interior of a New Beginnings restaurant. (And, in my case, the studio from which I broadcast every day and the cubicles our sales staff sits in on the other end of the building.)

100.5 The River's Matt Milhouse

We've been following the progress of The End of the Tour closely since it was first announced it would be filming in Grand Rapids. Parts of the film were shot in the studios, offices and hallways of Townsquare Media in Grand Rapids.

I remember the film crew setting up and walking quietly around them. Nobody wants to ruin a scene and end up on the business end of a "Slapsgiving" moment.

You'll find many Grand Rapids and West Michigan landmarks throughout the film. For some of the high-profile movies shot in Grand Rapids, looking for those landmarks was the best part. That's not the case here. The End of the Tour comes with high expectations and Oscar buzz around Segel's performance. It doesn't disappoint.

The movie portrays a very complicated relationship between David Lipsky (Jesse Eisenberg) and David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel). It's a constant struggle of trust, a relationship of give and take, a relationship that is very real. It is captivating.

Segel's performance has received well-deserved praise, but Eisenberg's performance, Donald Margulies' screenplay and James Ponsoldt's work as director all standout too.

This isn't Ponsoldt's first notable film. Off the Black and Smashed were both good. The Spectacular Now was excellent. All three deal with alcohol abuse and its affect on relationships. The End of the Tour touches on those same issues and it is his best work yet.

The buzz around Ponsoldt was already growing before The End of the Tour. Add 2016's sci-fi movie The Circle, starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks, and James Ponsoldt may quickly become a household name.

The depth of David Foster Wallace and his struggles with fame, plus the complicated relationship he developed with David Lipsky are all captured very well. The End of the Tour is an excellent film that could make some noise during movie awards season.

 

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