Life as We Know It

First Hit: We all know the end before it begins, yet it was presented well enough to enjoy.

Katherine Heigl does have talent. And as Holly Berenson she plays a single successful small business owner who doesn’t date much and has friends who like to set her up.

Although not all her talents are on display in this film, many of them are; which include, she is funny - she has a nice sense of timing in her pointed barbs. She also does a scene as having had too much to drink which came off fairly well, she cries well - it feels real and not manufactured, she effectively displays an air of being intelligent and she is attractive.

All of these are limitedly displayed in this film, but one senses there is more to her than what is in this film. Conversely, Josh Duhamel (as Eric Messer) showed a lack of depth in both the character as well as the energy he brought to this part. I’m not sure who would have been a better co-star but I think a stronger match for Heigl would have made a stronger picture.

The basic plot is that their close friends die and leave them their child. They move into the deceased parent’s house and start raising the child they were given while also attempting to live their own lives. As they begin to realize that the parents aren’t coming back they begin to take on the challenges of making a life for themselves and the child.

The scenes of the child Sophie (played by Alexis Clagett, Brynn Clagett and Brook Clagett) are fun and realistic. I especially liked the scene when she first started to walk and she was walking/running with a diaper and tennis shoes on – perfect. They eventually break up but we all know they’ll get back together and eventually they do.

However, the way the script was written it wasn’t very strong or pointed.

Heigl is very good and very believable in her role. Duhamel wasn’t strong enough to do this role justice, it just seemed too lackadaisical. Josh Lucas as Sam the pediatrician was great and actually made the film more believable. Greg Berlanti directed the film in a mixed way in that some scenes were strong (Heigl and Duhamel being interviewed by the social worker) while others were rather weak (neighbors coming by unexpectedly).

Overall: Entertaining enough and definitely a Sunday afternoon bit of enjoyable fluff.

Going the Distance

First Hit: Drew Barrymore and Justin Long make this film work in many ways.

Barrymore plays Erin, who is a writing graduate student at Stanford University doing a summer internship at a New York City newspaper called The Sentinel. While there, she happens upon Garrett (played by Justin Long) who is sitting and moping to his friends about the girl who just walked out on him.

His friends, Dan and Box (played by Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis respectively) listen to his bemoaning all the time because he never really commits to a girl and they often end up in a bar having some beer lamenting his misfortune.

He and Erin find they have things in common and end up having a few drinks, then spend the night together. She tells him the next day she only has 6 weeks left in town and therefore doesn’t want to do anything serious. She also explains that she has already once followed a man around the US only to lose sight of her life and she won’t do this again.

As you would expect, they fall in love, have a long distance relationship and spend the rest of the film finding out a way to be together.

What worked about this film was the dialogue. It was crisp, open and very much built on today’s ideas and ideals. I also thought that, as a couple, they were well matched and seemed to fit both physically and emotionally.

The other characters, Dan, Box, and Erin’s sister Corrine (played by Christina Applegate) were extremely useful to the plot, dialogue and movement of the film.

Barrymore was great, open, fully charged and engaging as Erin. She seems to gaining more maturity and strength personally which results in deeper characters. Long was in one of his better roles. He usually is the calm, cool and collected guy, who is clearly in-charge of his feelings, but here there is a movement to expose himself more and with Barrymore there was a connection which he didn’t hide. Day and Sudeikis were perfect amusing foils to Long and gave the film some of its funniest moments while also making sure there was some truth to the whole story. Applegate was a joy to see as the Barrymore’s older sister. She was vulnerable, possessive, controlling and supportive at all the right times. Geoff LaTulippe wrote a strong script while Nanette Burstein did a great job with both the story and the characters.

Overall: This was a well done romantic funny film and even though we all know the ending long before it arrives, it was a fun ride.

The Switch

First Hit: Although the ending is telegraphed it was watchable and, at times, funny.

Jennifer Aniston plays Kassie Larson a woman who has reached an age that is telling her, either she gets pregnant now or forgets about being a mother.

She’s had a number of relationships which didn’t work out including a brief dating stint with her best friend Wally Mars (played by Jason Bateman). It is obvious they like each other and get along well even though Wally is a cynical person who always pointing out what is wrong with something.

Kassie is hopeful and ends up in relationships that are not well thought out. I’m wondering if the tabloid Aniston was the inspiration for the character here. Anyway, she decides to find a sperm donor and tells Wally he’s not good looking enough to be the guy.

At a sperm donor inception party we meet Roland (played by Patrick Wilson) who is certainly good looking enough but dumber than a brick. This doesn’t fit because, in this film, Kassie is supposed to be a smart girl. A turn of events has Wally spilling Roland’s sperm so he replaces it with his own.

We’re supposed to believe he doesn’t remember it because of the drugs and alcohol he’s ingested but… This is about a low as this film gets and from here it is a long slow climb back to mediocrity.

Aniston, just seems to play the same type person much of the time. Because I’ve seen her much better in roles, I wish she’d stretch her talents. However, she is about the only thing (besides the kid) worth watching. Bateman plays a cynical sourpuss with little reason to be this way. At one point we get a glimpse of his history but not enough to make it real. Two lines of dialogue doesn’t make a history. Thomas Robinson and Bryce Robinson play their son Sebastian at different ages and they hold up their end of the story with solid acting talent. They are funny, smart and vulnerable and make it believable. Yet the funniest scene is between Bateman and Victor Pagan who plays a spontaneous street talker. I wonder if it would have been a better film had it been directed by one versus two directors (Josh Gordon and Will Speck).

Overall: Not much of a film, but Aniston does enough to keep people interested while I tired of Bateman.

Valentine's Day

First Hit: A funny, cute and lighthearted romp with a huge cast ensuring its popularity.

Did I say huge cast? Here is a partial listing: Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Biel, Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Shirley MacLaine, Bradley Cooper, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Alba, Hector Elizondo, and Anne Hathaway and that’s not everyone who is in this film.

This cast alone would drive people to the box office but it is also a Garry Marshall film and it opened on Valentine’s Day weekend so it was almost guaranteed to be successful. I saw this with my partner on Valentine's Day and there were lots of couples in the theater.

From an entertainment point of view, this film was also a success. The story lines are varied; from old time lovers still deepening and rekindling their love to young lovers discovering their next steps. There is a counterpoint of people who struggle and don’t particularly like Valentine’s Day.

The film begins with a man asking a woman to marry him, she says "yes" then has a change of heart. It segues into a boy living with his grandparents and having a crush on his teacher and he wants to give her a valentine but the teacher is deeply involved with a man whom she discovers is married.

There is the story of a mother returning from her overseas Army assignment to be with her love for just 18 hours before she has to return to her assignment. Then there is a football player announcing he is gay which will allow him to be public with his relationship.

These and many more stories were packed into this film. It would be hard to not relate to at least one of them in some way.

I won’t comment on all the performances but bring up a couple which I thought were worth noting. I enjoyed Biel being more physical in her comedy than in previous films. She was very enjoyable to watch. I enjoyed both Garner and Hathaway in their respective roles as teacher and part time phone sex operator. Marshall doesn’t take a lot of risks in this film (which is true to form for him) but he doesn't need to, the story and actors bring it all together under his guiding hand.

Overall: This was a well marketed film that delivered enough laughs and story line to keep me interested for the entire film.

When in Rome

First Hit: Very few laughs and very little substance.

 I don’t know the idea or concept on which this film was based, but walking out of the theater it felt as if very little went into the script.

It is a simple story about Beth (played by Kristen Bell), a New York art curator who is overworked and under pressure by her overbearing boss Celeste (played by Anjelica Huston). Beth has had a couple broken relationships and is reluctant to get involved with anyone. Her sister announces, after two weeks of dating a new Italian man, that she is going to immediately marry him.

Based on her experience Beth is concerned for her sister. Beth is the bridesmaid at the wedding and meets the best man Nick (played by Josh Duhamel). There is chemistry between Nick and Beth but the script is written in such a way it never really gets explored.

In a solitary drunk moment Beth stands in the “Fountain of Love” and picks up 4 coins and a poker chip. Afterword she is told that the owners of those coins will now fall in love with her and seek her out. This is where the semi-lunatic characters interacting with Beth try to make this a comedy.

The fallacy of this is what's the probability that she would select only coins tossed in by men? Answer; slim to none and it is here that the story and film loses all credibility. Think of it, if you had 10 single men and 10 single women standing in front of a “Fountain of Love” what is probability that 100% of the men would throw a coin wishing for the love of their life?

Probably less than 75%. What is the probability of 100% of the women doing the same? Probably more than 75%. Then, out of those who throw a coin, what is the probability that someone randomly picking up 5 of those coins would have selected coins only belonging to men? 

Zero, it just isn’t realistic and that is how this film plays – unrealistic.

Bell is OK with what she had to work with. I’d like to see her in something more dramatic to see if she has acting chops, I suspect yes. Duhamel is reasonable in his role as Bell’s love interest but again this script doesn’t allow for any display of interesting acting. The writers; they needed to have their head examined.

Overall: This is a poorly conceived story and not worth the time or money it took to make it.