| I just wanted to pop in and defend this movie. I think that when you make a film with as many top-billing actors as this film has, you automatically create unconquerable expectations in almost everyone. And I'm not talking about expectations as to whether or not it will be good, but even just what it will be like in the first place.I don't think that most people who went to review this movie for their magazines and blogs were expecting to see a bunch of very famous actors lining up to pour sugar syrup down their throat. Well that's exactly what they're doing. Real romance is <more> confusing, sweet, harsh, joyful, stupefying, and unique to each couple. And frankly, I don't think that a cynic is going to react well to a film that simply celebrates love in all it's forms. They can't complicate it enough to analyze it with their minds- so it therefore eludes them, and they minimize or even get annoyed by it. This movie is like that couple in love who are staring into each others eyes at the table next to you- and you're either going to adore it, or dislike the contrast that it provides.For anyone who has ever been in love, I can't recommend this film enough. Not only is it truly hilarious, very well done, full of couple chemistry, totally colorful, considerate, and truly original- it is more than that. It's an important film. It's important because it will really check your pulse and tell you if you can still feel that soft tickle of joy that is innocent love. People with hearts will love this movie, heartless intellectuals will vomit and pass out. It's just that excellent. Note the difference between what critics think of this movie and what audiences think; the audience that I was in seemed to love it. I myself like all sorts of films, and I took this film for what it was trying to do, and ended up loving every minute of it. The only thing that detracted from it at all was how continually disgusted I was in realizing how poorly this film is being treated by critics.This film is like one big, scented valentine's card tucked into the desk of the world. It's the perfect date movie, not a chick flick, not a cliché- and when you read it, if you really do, you can't help but admit that it hits right on the money. It knows what you expect, knows what people will try to make it, and continually dodges bullets to turn what you know will be a cliché moment into a hilarious surprise. It's delightfully naughty at times, but without going overboard, and it has enough heart, creativity, and life for ten movies of it's kind.It also crossed my mind that- though the message of the film is very simple, being simply a photograph of love- the arrangement of characters and the actually believable way that they are all connected is a fun juggle, and perhaps too much for the incoherent mind. In that one way, it's a challenging film that might have embarrassed a few critics who didn't expect that and got lost- something you wouldn't want to admit if you pride yourself on intelligence.I also have to put in a plug for Taylor Swift. I feel truly indignant about how everyone is slamming her performance. I don't know what they are talking about. I'm an actor, a filmmaker, and a connoisseur- and I can tell you that Swift's performance was perfectly silly, hilarious, and awesome. It's extremely brave for a multi-grammy award winning superstar who has nothing to prove to get crazy and play a total ditz, when most people in her shoes would have stayed way inside the safe zone. She is NOT a bad actor, she is playing a caricature of a standard valley girl- and taking it as far as it can go. She was freaking funny.Everyone else, of course, was right on par. Jamie Foxx was especially good, Jessica Biel is magnetic, Jennifer Garner always converts you, and Ashton Kutcher carries his larger role with classic Kutcher ease. And I've heard of people calling Jessica Alba miscast, but if you look at where the filmmakers end her character up at, it is typical of how they defy your expectations with almost every part of this film. Everything except the happy endings, with which it is defiantly adamant about including.So, if you've ever been in love, I highly recommend this film. It's exceptional. And if you've never been in love, alone- but still believe in it- this is it. Relationships get a lot more complicated, but what brings us together is too simple for words, and can only be described with repeated viewings from every angle, a'la this film: THE Valentine's Day movie, case closed.So like it or not, it was born a huge film, and cannot be stopped- it was packed at every showing the night I saw it- real people love it, and it's here to stay. Expect to see it on television every Valentine's Day, suckas. This movie will work it's magic on cynics in a long, warm hug- wearing a baby nap to catch the spit up. <less> |
