A Lot Like Love
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 3 out of 4
What interested me about A Lot Like Love was its interesting approach to the age old question of "can members of the opposite sex simply be friends?" In fact, the tag line for the film is, "there's nothing better than a great romance... to ruin a perfectly good friendship." As a testament to this question, my best friend is of the opposite sex. And no, we've never questioned or been tempted to bring our relationship past the level of friendship. So, in my opinion the question is a little bit silly. But apparently, this is a big problem for most people. Having a wholesome friendship with the opposite sex is tough, and A Lot Like Love tries to study this problem.
It begins with sex at 35,000 feet. Emily (Amanda Peet) has just broken up with her punk rocker boyfriend and boards a plane with Oliver (Ashton Kutcher), the geeky college grad who stared at her boyishly at the terminal. While cleaning coffee off his shirt in the plane's lavatory, Emily bursts in the door to have her way with him in the most obvious of rebounds. Oliver takes it as an aggressive pick-up line and follows her around New York until she finally gives in and has a drink with him. Here a bet is made that in six years Emily must call Oliver's parents (because even if Oliver moves away, his parents will still be in the same place) and see if he's become a rich, married business man successfully making his own way. From there, they part ways and go on to live their lives. But three and a half years later, Emily is looking for a date for New Years and runs across Oliver's number in her little black book. Giving his parents a call, she finds Oliver now starting his own .com business selling diapers. But again, the next morning the two part ways and periodically continue their friendship this way during the six year running length of their bet, all the while falling slowly in love.
Since the beginning of his film acting career I've had faith in the Ashton Kutcher. I even enjoyed his performance in the oft-insulted The Butterfly Effect. I think Kutcher has talent. And despite still being considered a B-list actor, I continue to look forward to each of his films. But for A Lot Like Love, Kutcher may not have been the best choice. The same goes for the beautiful Amanda Peet. Both these actors still have the reputation and image of comedic actors; and although A Lot Like Love is being labeled as a comedy, beneath the surface it's a pretty thoughtful drama. It's obvious the casting choices were made towards Kutcher and Peet to boost box office numbers, sacrificing some of the film's edge.
Don't get me wrong though, Kutcher and Peet are likable enough. It's the screenplay that deals with its comedic points a little foolishly. The screenplay tries too hard to get us to laugh, resorting to cheap slapstick gags to ease the tension that's so strenuously worked up. And in the midst of the screenplay's terrific construction of the two characters relationship, we're often struck sidelong by misused broad comedy. The actors can hold their own comically; they don't need the assistance of invisible glass windows that need to be run in to by the oh-so-silly female lead. This awkward comedy takes away from A Lot Like Love's power. Instead of being absorbed into these two characters' lives and periodic romance, we're constantly reminded that this is a box office romantic comedy, where mature adult romance is sacrificed for quirky lighthearted clichés.
But there's so much to like about A Lot Like Love that I couldn't help but recommend it. Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet do well in their ever-changing roles, the comedy really does work sometimes, and the screenplay's just too likable to abuse. There's still an affective drama about coming-of-age relationships and opposite sex friendships hiding behind A Lot Like Love's comedic veneer, but sometimes the film is just too scared to show it.
-Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 3 out of 4
What interested me about A Lot Like Love was its interesting approach to the age old question of "can members of the opposite sex simply be friends?" In fact, the tag line for the film is, "there's nothing better than a great romance... to ruin a perfectly good friendship." As a testament to this question, my best friend is of the opposite sex. And no, we've never questioned or been tempted to bring our relationship past the level of friendship. So, in my opinion the question is a little bit silly. But apparently, this is a big problem for most people. Having a wholesome friendship with the opposite sex is tough, and A Lot Like Love tries to study this problem.
It begins with sex at 35,000 feet. Emily (Amanda Peet) has just broken up with her punk rocker boyfriend and boards a plane with Oliver (Ashton Kutcher), the geeky college grad who stared at her boyishly at the terminal. While cleaning coffee off his shirt in the plane's lavatory, Emily bursts in the door to have her way with him in the most obvious of rebounds. Oliver takes it as an aggressive pick-up line and follows her around New York until she finally gives in and has a drink with him. Here a bet is made that in six years Emily must call Oliver's parents (because even if Oliver moves away, his parents will still be in the same place) and see if he's become a rich, married business man successfully making his own way. From there, they part ways and go on to live their lives. But three and a half years later, Emily is looking for a date for New Years and runs across Oliver's number in her little black book. Giving his parents a call, she finds Oliver now starting his own .com business selling diapers. But again, the next morning the two part ways and periodically continue their friendship this way during the six year running length of their bet, all the while falling slowly in love.
Since the beginning of his film acting career I've had faith in the Ashton Kutcher. I even enjoyed his performance in the oft-insulted The Butterfly Effect. I think Kutcher has talent. And despite still being considered a B-list actor, I continue to look forward to each of his films. But for A Lot Like Love, Kutcher may not have been the best choice. The same goes for the beautiful Amanda Peet. Both these actors still have the reputation and image of comedic actors; and although A Lot Like Love is being labeled as a comedy, beneath the surface it's a pretty thoughtful drama. It's obvious the casting choices were made towards Kutcher and Peet to boost box office numbers, sacrificing some of the film's edge.
Don't get me wrong though, Kutcher and Peet are likable enough. It's the screenplay that deals with its comedic points a little foolishly. The screenplay tries too hard to get us to laugh, resorting to cheap slapstick gags to ease the tension that's so strenuously worked up. And in the midst of the screenplay's terrific construction of the two characters relationship, we're often struck sidelong by misused broad comedy. The actors can hold their own comically; they don't need the assistance of invisible glass windows that need to be run in to by the oh-so-silly female lead. This awkward comedy takes away from A Lot Like Love's power. Instead of being absorbed into these two characters' lives and periodic romance, we're constantly reminded that this is a box office romantic comedy, where mature adult romance is sacrificed for quirky lighthearted clichés.
But there's so much to like about A Lot Like Love that I couldn't help but recommend it. Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet do well in their ever-changing roles, the comedy really does work sometimes, and the screenplay's just too likable to abuse. There's still an affective drama about coming-of-age relationships and opposite sex friendships hiding behind A Lot Like Love's comedic veneer, but sometimes the film is just too scared to show it.
-Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com