Seen: July 16th, 2007
Format: HD-DVD
Rating: 5
This is another of those films that I have no idea why I watched it. I'm OK with Romantic comedies, but I'm not sure why this one stood out. Not that I regretted it, but I'm just not sure why I picked it in the first place.
Maybe I'm just getting old.
This is basically a variation on Pretty Woman, with the male and female roles reversed. This is an interesting spin, and has great potential. Unfortunately the film never lives up to the premise.
The good and bad news is that there's other fairly interesting stuff going on here. The characters are vary widely and are generally very interesting. Nick is used largely as foil here. His interactions are generally designed to reveal and elaborate on the individual characters. This is an interesting device, given Nick's nature and role in the film.
The interesting stuff is the "underlying mystery of what happened". Nick's interaction with the characters serves is detective-like. As each interactions deepens, more of "the thing that happened" gets revealed. The Romantic Comedy we signed up for becomes more of a Romantic Mystery. This is OK, because this mystery gives us some interesting family and personal dynamics and creates some pretty high drama. It moves along nicely and has several great moments.
The problem with all this is the film that we actually came to see is put on the back burner. It progresses pretty much as we'd expect, but since it's overshadowed by all the other drama, it gets short-changed in it's development.
The "background" story does have a great deal to do with Kat's character and her eventual resolution, but it really doesn't play as heavily into her romance as the film makers would like us to believe.
The "frontground" story has another hole in the character of Nick. I had a hard time with this characterization. Nothing against Mulroney, but Nick comes off as stoic, judgemental and reserved. This feels in un-genuine to me, given Nick's profession and reputation. He doesn't come off as conceited, which is a benefit, but neither does seem experienced and professional. I kept trying to compare him to Jagger's Luther from The Man from Elysian Fields, and failing.
Nick's demeanor also undermines his relationship with Kat. Combined with his attitude and experience, I can't seem to reconcile the way his affection for Kat develops. I just can't buy their transformation given their natures and interactions in the film.
On the acting front, Amy Adams gives another great supporting role. I hated her character here as much as I loved her character from Junebug. Messing is good. She plays Kat's with tenderness and humor, but the range of the character doesn't seem that great. Mulroney's performance gives me problems. I don't buy Nick as a character, but think that's writing and directing issues as opposed to an acting issues. The rest of the cast does a good job, with Sarah Parish turning in a particularly amusing role.
All in all, a decent film with a few problems and a few great moments.
The Good: Interesting characters and scenario
The Bad: Not the film your looking for
The Ugly: Narcissism
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