Jones and Streep dazzle in Hope Springs
One lesson learnt from 2012’s box office is to not take the drawing power of a pensioner-aimed romantic comedy lightly. The perfectly pleasant, if underwhelming, Brit-flick The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel rode the mobility scooter all the way to the bank, earning over £54 million internationally. So whilst studios primarily target younger crowds with superhero flicks and action thrillers of all varieties, an aging baby boomer generation seems eager to jump at quality films they can more easily relate to. Fitting comfortably into this niche is Hope Springs, a dramatic rom-com anchored by two of the finest actors over-60 (or of any age, to be fair) Hollywood has to offer: Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones.
Hope Springs in the UK 14 September
Screenwriter Vanessa Taylor’s impressive first feature film puts the marriage of Streep’s Kay and Jones’ Arnold under the microscope, as the unhappy housewife drags her husband to an intensive couples therapy retreat. With grown-up children and 31 years of marriage behind them, this is a couple who would typically be relegated to supporting players in a film about their younger, sexier offspring. Instead the audience here is treated to some terrifically grouchy resistance from Jones, who has become disinterested in his wife. Though he initially seems to be playing Arnold as if he were a certain man in black, once therapy sessions with Steve Carell’s relationship specialist begin, Jones’ character dramatically and endearingly expands; stealing the show from Streep in the process, not exactly a mean feat. For her part, the three-time Academy Award winner is typically dependable as the shunned and lonely, yet loyal partner who’s desperate to repair their floundering marriage. At times riotously funny whilst tinged with sorrow, Hope Springs may not be entirely unpredictable, but the results feel well-earned thanks to patient scripting and first-rate performances.
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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World shows the tender side of tragedy
Casting Steve Carell and Keira Knightley as the two leads in a romantic comedy wouldn’t be the most obvious of decisions, yet this is exactly what Lorene Scafaria has done in her directorial debut Seeking a Friend for the End of the World; her follow-up to 2008’s Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. With three weeks before an asteroid is due to wipe out all life on earth, abandoned Dodge (Carell) and stranded Penny (Knightley) set out together to reach their loved ones before time runs out. It’s a bit like Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia, if Melancholia was a charmingly optimistic date movie minus Kirsten Dunst laid out beside a river.
Per usual, Carell is cast as an unlucky-in-love and on the verge of a mid-life crisis. This time, though, he takes on more of a straight-man role. As the newly dumped Dodge, Carell is left to react to the wild pandemonium ensuing around him, as people react to their impending doom in a wide variety of hedonistic ways. Playing the likable schlub is an effortless chore for Carell and it enables the relationship that blossoms between Dodge and Penny to appear far more believable than it otherwise might. As the hypersomniac Brit who misses the final flight back to her family in England, Knightley uses her allure to the full effect and gives a sweet, emotionally moving performance that carries the second half of the film. With a sharply dark, comedic look at how society may respond to its final days in the first half, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World takes on a solemn tone midway through the film. While jarring in its sudden onset, the shift allows Knightley and Carell to spread expand their characters and delivers an effectively touching final act.
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The Five-Year Engagement feels a year too long
After their success with The Muppets Nicolas Stoller and Jason Segel return to their old profane tricks in illustrating the struggles faced by two love-struck San Franciscans in The Five-Year Engagement. This latest Stoller/Segel collaboration sees the latter teamed up with Emily Blunt as an engaged couple waiting for the pieces to fall into place over the course of five years. There are a fair few laughs to be had, but by the time the film winds down, everyone is feeling those years, the audience included.
The Five-Year Engagement begins 22 June in the UK
The pairing of Segel and Blunt is strong casting decision as the actors have a genuine likability to them, making it easy to become invested in their romance. As the marriage plans are repeatedly delayed and the couple migrate from the sunny surrounds of the Bay Area to the chilly bleakness of Michigan, there’s a lot of amusement to be found in the deterioration of Segel’s formerly successful chef, Tom. Driven mad by the hopelessness of his new environment, Tom soon resorts to hunting whilst sporting disturbing facial hair and hideously hilarious knit-wear. On the flipside, Blunt’s Violet is distracted by her career advancements under the watchful eye of her new boss, Professor Winton Childs (the ever smarmy Rhys Ifans, not quite yet mutating from academic to reptile). Amid the exaggeration of the situation, The Five-Year Engagement offers a serious look at the kinds of issues that can drive a wedge between those in otherwise happy relationships.
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A Delicacy to avoid
Typically, only the best foreign-language films secure distribution outside their own borders. However, a star with international appeal can take a film further than it may otherwise deserve to go. And so Audrey Tautou returns to her familiar rom-com territory in the Foenkinos brothers feature debut Delicacy (or La délicatesse). Unfortunately, she checks her trademark charm and charisma at the door as she trudges through a joyless deluge of awkward and dreadfully unfunny moments which comprise this dreary, pointless outing that should have been banned from crossing French borders.
Delicacy, as exciting as it looks. In UK cinemas 13 April.
Delicacy is a family project, adapted from David Foenkinos’ (who also co-directs here with his brother Stéphane) novel and the lack of outside influence shows. It would be a minor spoiler to mention that Tautou plays Nathalie, a recently widowed wife, as when the films her partner is very much alive. However, as the film breezes through their courtship and eventual marriage, it does so without creating any significant connection between Nathalie and François (Pio Marmai) that the viewer can become emotionally invested in. So once François is struck down and Nathalie retreats into a life devoted to work and mourning, there is little reason to particularly care about what slowly unfolds. Skipping ahead three years, Nathalie (looking no worse for wear) has secured a promotion and is left to fend off advances from her lecherous boss. Exactly what he sees in her is a mystery as Tautou’s character is defined by grief and little else. When Delicacy randomly brings goofy Swede Markus (François Damiens) into the picture as Nathalie’s sudden suitor it’s as if the plot has been sideswiped by this new character. It becomes increasingly clear that character development and introductions are not David Koenkinos’ strong points.
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Review: This Means War
Take two best mates, who also happen to be CIA agents, toss in an unlucky-in-love, hot blonde and what is the result? A steaming helping of a McG action-comedy entitled This Means War, that’s what. This rom-com wolf in espionage-thriller sheep’s clothing features Tom Hardy and Chris Pine as the combatants fighting for the hand of fair-maiden Reese Witherspoon to sometimes funny, too often maddening effect.
This Means War disappoints from 2 March 2012 in the UK
Super CIA spies Tuck (Hardy) and FDR (Pine) are introduced via a covert mission in Hong Kong that becomes increasingly un-covert, resulting in a baddie looking remarkably well after a terrible fall and an even worse landing (but still dead, nonetheless). The fallout lands the pair desk-duty punishment as they contemplate their personal lives. Meanwhile, the central villain (in so much that This Means War actually has one) plots revenge for the death of his brother, in a ludicrously underdeveloped and inconsequential plot-line that acts as little more than a plot device in the flick’s final 15 minutes. A broody Tuck turns to an online dating site to find love. Much to her horror, head product tester Lauren (Witherspoon) discovers that she has been signed up to the same site by her neurotic married gal friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler). Needless to say, Lauren meets Tuck and then coincidentally meets FDR who had been inexplicably monitoring their date together. Of course, FDR becomes smitten and wastes no time in worming his way into a date with Lauren as well. Once the pair becomes aware of this highly unlikely coincidence, they agree to both date Lauren and let her decide before vowing that no matter what- bros before hoes. However, This Means War would be pretty boring if these two alphas males abided by their agreement and while the film is massively stupid, it certainly isn’t boring- no matter how tempting it would be to dub it This Means Snore.
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Review: Crazy, Stupid, Love
Featuring a ridiculously loaded cast of top Hollywood talent, Crazy, Stupid, Love is easily the best romantic comedy of the year. The clever script delivers an abundance of laughs, cringes, touches of drama and some great surprises. While there may be a few contrivances along the way, the charm of the cast allows for quick forgiveness.
Crazy, Stupid, Love: And men everywhere weep
Within the opening minute, Cal Weaver’s (Steve Carell) life comes undone as wife of 25 years Emily (Julianne Moore) declares she wants a divorce. An awkward and painful car ride home leaves Cal devastated and soon seeking comfort at a local upscale bar. It is here that he meets barfly lothario Jacob (a wonderfully suave Ryan Gosling), who decides to take Cal under his wing in order to help him to regain his manhood. Meanwhile, Cal’s teenage son Robbie (Johan Bobo) is struggling to cope with his feelings for family babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton) while urging his father to fight to win Emily back.
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Review: You Instead
You Instead takes a novel approach to film-making. Using 2010′s T in the Park festival in Scotland for the setting, this British rom-com sees big-time US electro-rocker, Adam (Luke Treadaway) ending up hand-cuffed to small-time Brit musician Morello (Natalia Tena) following a very public row on the festival grounds. The too-predictable story could have been written on a napkin, but the film is not without charm as it captures a definite festival glow and the music provides a boost as events unfold.
Luke Treadaway and Natalia Tena at odds in You Instead
It’s difficult to watch You Instead without thinking that it’s an advert for T in the Park. However, this shouldn’t be held against the film because many movies are little more than commercials to begin with. The original Transformers cartoon and feature film were essentially produced to push the toys. Films are constantly selling their audience products without the viewer batting a lash, so the fact that it’s noticeable here speaks of the different approach that was taken in filming You Instead. It feels partially like a behind-the-scenes documentary and if it is an advert for T in the Park, it’s a pretty good one. Many acts, including Paloma Faith and Biffy Clyro are caught performing on-stage and the characters are effectively blended into the real world setting.
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Review: Friends With Benefits
In cinemas across the UK this Friday, Friends With Benefits is the best rom-com released so far this year. Granted, the competition hasn’t been stiff and that title will only remain until Crazy, Stupid Love is released, but neither point takes away from how surprisingly enjoyable and well-written Friends With Benefitsis. This Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake vehicle is dialogue driven, opting for clever banter between characters over silly situations and boasts terrific support and cameos- most notably of which, sees Emma Stone providing a fantastically foul-mouthed opening scene that strikes an early high-note.
Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis star in Friends With Benefits
Justin Timberlake is Dylan, head of a small but successful web-blogged who is recruited by Mila Kunis’ head-hunter Jamie for a top position at GQ. Leaving his father and sister behind in Los Angeles Dylan makes the move to New York City and the close, buddy relationship with Jamie is established. The office-based scenes are bolstered by Woody Harrelson’s proudly gay sports editor, Tommy who delivers some wickedly fun exchanges.
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