An ensemble rom-com that requires a love of salsa. If this love is lacking in the audience, they will often be bored. The opening is set in the salsa club that connects the characters, is long and dull and drenched in a cheap-looking murky red, which isn't going to snag the interest of a passing viewer. This is reprised throughout the film along with drawn out shots of London roads, adding to the lethargic and depressing tone.
However, Born Romantic does have an interesting set up, once it gets around to it, and each of the three male leads have intriguing back stories. Fergus has come to London to find the love he jilted eight years ago. Frankie lives in a sinking house with his ex-wife. Eddie is a petty thief looking after his senile father. Unfortunately their female equivalents are less developed. Mo is a slag (broken heart), Eleanor a snob (high standards) and Jocelyn a kook (fear of death). It feels very much that each couple ends up together only because there isn't space in the film for them to think about meeting anyone else and the ending is unsatisfactory because from all signs the relationships between Fergus and Mo, and Frankie and Eleanor are doomed, with them only getting together because they are tired of fighting. The sweeter relationship between Eddie and Jocelyn may last, but these two characters have the least depth in reality so it is hard to consider them real people at all.
Fergus, Frankie and Eddie pursue their ladies, their stories connected by a salsa club and a widower taxi driver, but while individual scenes can be enlightening and well crafted, they are never enough. The whole film suffers from its disjointed nature and it ultimately has too many characters and plots to give any the depth they deserve. While this is the risk of all ensemble films, Born Romantic doesn't have anything else to it to fall back on.
However, Born Romantic does have an interesting set up, once it gets around to it, and each of the three male leads have intriguing back stories. Fergus has come to London to find the love he jilted eight years ago. Frankie lives in a sinking house with his ex-wife. Eddie is a petty thief looking after his senile father. Unfortunately their female equivalents are less developed. Mo is a slag (broken heart), Eleanor a snob (high standards) and Jocelyn a kook (fear of death). It feels very much that each couple ends up together only because there isn't space in the film for them to think about meeting anyone else and the ending is unsatisfactory because from all signs the relationships between Fergus and Mo, and Frankie and Eleanor are doomed, with them only getting together because they are tired of fighting. The sweeter relationship between Eddie and Jocelyn may last, but these two characters have the least depth in reality so it is hard to consider them real people at all.
Fergus, Frankie and Eddie pursue their ladies, their stories connected by a salsa club and a widower taxi driver, but while individual scenes can be enlightening and well crafted, they are never enough. The whole film suffers from its disjointed nature and it ultimately has too many characters and plots to give any the depth they deserve. While this is the risk of all ensemble films, Born Romantic doesn't have anything else to it to fall back on.