Shouldn't a film which cost 120 million dollars to make be friggin awesome ? Well, 'How do you know' whether that money has been squandered away, or was used wisely...
Or maybe, "How do you know" whether a film is going to be this mediocre, when it had 4 pretty established actors, and a Director having 'As Good as it Gets' to his credit ?
Unfortunately, all of them get it wrong here. The script is fantastically unrealistic: a female athlete Lisa(Witherspoon) whose career ends abruptly meets a guy George (Rudd) who has been wrongly accused of financial crimes. To top it all, George works in his father's (Jack Nicholson) own company and Lisa is also in an on-off relationship with a womanizer Matty (Owen Wilson).
The problems don't end with the script. I have sat through and enjoyed even more ridiculous scripts, but those were well equipped in other ways. This one is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but nowhere does the chemistry between Witherspoon and the two leads kick off, nor is the comedy any good. Most of the jokes are bland and the characters appear to be one dimensional with many aspects of their personalities (which could have been interesting) left unexplored.
What might work for some people are a few poignant moments in between: one where Lisa breaks down while brushing her teeth, and another when she and Rudd talk to each other for the first time, visibly drunk. Jack Nicholson is mostly wasted, and has in all probability signed up for this film as a favor to an old friend.
It released on Christmas weekend in the United States, when the audiences are inherently in a great mood and thus more forgiving. My hunch is that it does not stand a chance here. You might want to see it on HBO as a lazy matinee movie: It doesn't cut much ice as a flick you would like to spend 150 bucks for.view less
Or maybe, "How do you know" whether a film is going to be this mediocre, when it had 4 pretty established actors, and a Director having 'As Good as it Gets' to his credit ?
Unfortunately, all of them get it wrong here. The script is fantastically unrealistic: a female athlete Lisa(Witherspoon) whose career ends abruptly meets a guy George (Rudd) who has been wrongly accused of financial crimes. To top it all, George works in his father's (Jack Nicholson) own company and Lisa is also in an on-off relationship with a womanizer Matty (Owen Wilson).
The problems don't end with the script. I have sat through and enjoyed even more ridiculous scripts, but those were well equipped in other ways. This one is supposed to be a romantic comedy, but nowhere does the chemistry between Witherspoon and the two leads kick off, nor is the comedy any good. Most of the jokes are bland and the characters appear to be one dimensional with many aspects of their personalities (which could have been interesting) left unexplored.
What might work for some people are a few poignant moments in between: one where Lisa breaks down while brushing her teeth, and another when she and Rudd talk to each other for the first time, visibly drunk. Jack Nicholson is mostly wasted, and has in all probability signed up for this film as a favor to an old friend.
It released on Christmas weekend in the United States, when the audiences are inherently in a great mood and thus more forgiving. My hunch is that it does not stand a chance here. You might want to see it on HBO as a lazy matinee movie: It doesn't cut much ice as a flick you would like to spend 150 bucks for.view less
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