Top 10 List

Top 10 Romantic Comedy Cliches
(that I secretly love)

 Romantic comedies feature cliches and tropes that pop up in movie after movie. Some get annoying, but others give me a thrill no matter how many times I watch them. Here are my personal Top 10 Favorite Romantic Comedy cliches:

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10. Running to the airport. The love interest is leaving town and our hero has to stop them. There are a lot of variations on this- sometimes it's driving to the airport, other times the character has run through an airport (as in Love Actually) hoping to stop their one true love before she gets on that plane. Whatever the location, it's always an exciting sequence that adds a jolt of energy to the climax of the film.

9. The montage of brooding. Basically something has gone wrong and there's nothing to do about it but brood to some melancholy music. It's a mini-moody-music video and a nice break from the normally chipper rom-com world. Knotting Hill has a gorgeous sequence where Hugh Grant walks down the street and through the seasons to Bill Withers’ Aint No Sunshine When She’s Gone.

8. Realizing you're in love. Something seems to be off, but the main character can't figure out what it is. The, suddenly, it hits her. She's in love! Even though the audience has probably figured out the character's feelings long before she has, the epiphany is pretty exhilarating and usually kicks start a huge turning point in the film. Beauty and the Beast sets that realization to music.

7. The almost kiss. This is a tricky one because it can very easily cross the line from enjoyable-cliche to annoying one. I'm not a fan of the "interrupted kiss" (someone barges in just in time to stop the lip lock.) I'm talking about the brief moment of hesitation that stops a kiss in its tracks. The sexual tension is palpable, but one false move ruins the moment and leaves both characters longing for more. The almost-kiss works beautifully in Enchanted (and you get a bonus “realizing you’re in love” moment!)

6. Telling off a jerk. Our heroine is being held back by someone who generally treats her like crap. Often times it's a boss, a jealous boyfriend or a manipulative friend. After finally realizing she deserves better, our leading lady finally gets to tell off her tormenter. Kate Winslet gets just such a moment in The Holiday.

5. The surprise kiss. It’s a risky move that is likely to get you in trouble in real life, but is thrilling on film. The kiss comes out of nowhere and stops the other person in their tracks. 10 Things I Hate About You subverts the cliché by having Patrick’s kiss fail completely.

4. Confessing your love. A good rom-com will build to that final moment when a character just can't keep silent anymore. The confessor puts everything on the line in the hopes that the other person feels the same way. Sometimes it works out (like in When Harry Met Sally) and other times it doesn’t (like in Love Actually.) Regardless, the confession itself is always a thrilling moment.

3. Kissing in the rain. Completely impractical, but completely romantic. Breakfast at Tiffany’s set the bar pretty high for this one.

2. Singing your love. Similar to "confessing your love" but set to music. Epitomized by Adam Sandler in The Wedding Singer. 

1. The big fight. This might seem antithetical to everything rom-coms stand for, but there’s nothing I love more than a great argument. In a weird way, a fight can show you love someone even more than a kiss. You can’t just let them walk away, you’ve got to make them hear your side of things. While the kiss-in-the-rain scene may be the most iconic one in The Notebook, I find Allie and Noah’s fight to be way more moving. 

You would be hard pressed to find a scene that uses all of these clichés but this one from 2005's Pride & Prejudice makes a valiant effort. It features a love confession, big fight, almost kiss, telling off a jerk and it takes place in the rain. The only thing that could make it better is if Mr. Darcy pulled out a guitar

What are your favorite romantic comedy cliches? Let me know if the comments section below!

Review #5

JUST LIKE HEAVEN

Released: 2005
Director: Mark Waters
Starring: Reese Witherspoon & Mark Ruffalo

Grade: D
 

Have you ever found yourself watching a romantic comedy and thinking "This is great but it would be way better if it dealt more directly with the theme of death"? If so, Just Like Heaven might be the film for you. If instead you want your romantic comedies to have wit, humor, and—I don't know—romance, I would suggest you avoid this one at all costs.

The movie opens with Reese Witherspoon as our plucky heroine Elizabeth, an overworked doctor vying for an attending position and finishing up a 26-hour shift. We see her in action- fixing fractures, ordering x-rays, and dispensing her charming bedside manner. She seems competent, hardworking and successful, but it's pretty clear that something is wrong. How do we know something's wrong? Because just about every character she meets in the first fifteen minute manages to tell her so. Elizabeth is so dedicated to her job she doesn't have time to be social- she's just too busy saving people's lives. Clearly she's lost perspective on what's important. Things seem to be improving though, because she lands the attending position and heads off to the blind date her sister set up. Just when we think things couldn't get any better, she dies. Reese Witherspoon, America's sweetheart, Woods comma Elle herself, dies in a car crash. (Just for the record, I hardly think this counts as a spoiler since it pretty much kicks off the movie's plot.) 

What starts out as Grey's Anatomy turns into Ghost Whisperer. (Or maybe just that episode of Grey's where Meredith almost drowns and hangs out in that limbo world. Or that time when Denny came back as a ghost. Come to think of it, this movie is pretty much just Grey's Anatomy.) After the unexpected crash, we meet our generically-angst-ridden-male-protagonist, otherwise known as Mark Ruffalo. Mark (or David as he's know in this film) rents Elizabeth's old apartment and it's not long before he's visited by her ghost. There's a whole lot of time where we watch the two of them try to figure out what's going on, something that becomes increasingly annoying since most of the audience has probably already figured out that Elizabeth is a ghost.  I certainly could have done without the ghost-goes-to-grab-something-only-to-pass through-it gag the film reuses three or four times. After establishing that, yes, Elizabeth is in fact a friendly-ghost, the plot finally gets moving. Elizabeth can't remember anything about her former life, and since David's the only one who can see her, she enlists his help to solve the mystery of who she was and why she is such an "alive" spirit. (A detail that hints at one of the most obvious film twists of all time.)

It's pretty impressive that even with such a unique concept, this film manages to be so generic. It's like the filmmakers understood that witty banter is a thing most romantic comedies have, but they couldn't quite figure out how it works. Instead they just have the characters speak their lines quickly and loudly. The dialogue is so unnatural I began to wonder if the writer was a non-native English speaker. How else can you explain lines like, "Machines don't know everything." "Everything in my training tells me otherwise." Or the oh-so-natural-sounding "What a joy it must be to create a place like this." 

Reese is so listlessly phoning-in her performance that it's painful to watch. Mark makes the occasional effort and some of his physical comedy is almost enjoyable, but he's really only good compared to Reese's spiritless (pun intended) portrayal. The rest of the film's cast is made up of character actors you know by role rather than name, which allowed me to play the where-do-I-know-them-from game ("Hey, it's Napoleon Dynamite" "It's Keiko from Star Trek." "It's that slutty American girl from Love Actually!")  

Pretty much every female character is an unlikable stereotype. Reese is the overworked-career-woman who would be a lot happier if she just took her job less seriously. Her sister Amy is the overstressed-mom whose children have turned her into a raving lunatic who literally brandishes a knife. And David's downstairs neighbor is the oversexed-single-lady who attempts to seduce him by barging into his apartment and taking off all of her clothes.  To be honest though, the men don't come across much better. Mark Ruffalo's only defining characteristic is that he gets drunk often and is prone to fits of melancholy. His psychiatrist friend ("Hey it's that guy from that ABC Family show!") seems to have questionable morals as well. The film also insists on creating an entirely unnecessary villain in Elizabeth's professional rival. He reminds me of the kind of money-hungry baddies that used to be so popular in 80s movies (usually played by Bradley Whitford.) In one scene he chooses to ignore a hospital page in order to brag to his friend about a new car. I'm sure that greedy doctors do exist, but this man has dedicated his life to healing the sick and has put in enough time and effort to become an attending—he can't be all bad.

Beyond teaching us that partying is way more fulfilling than being a doctor (the happiest moment in Elizabeth's life was the night she blew off MCAT studying to drink margaritas with her sister), the film is plagued with weird tonal shifts. The first fifteen minutes are actually pretty enjoyable. There's some subtle comedy and Elizabeth feels like a real human being. After the accident, however, everything goes downhill. Elizabeth is suddenly a one-note shrew who is obsessed with keeping her apartment clean. (Wouldn't you think someone who works 26-hour shifts wouldn't have a lot of time for home decorating?) There's some painfully unfunny stoner-humor with Jon Heder as a dude who can "sense" the dead. But the movie also attempts to tug at the heartstrings with generic dialogue like "If you could ever really touch me, I might wake up from all of this" and vague references to fate. Coupled with the whole ghost thing, the film just feels way too convoluted. 

The worst crime the movie commits is not living up to its potential. There's nothing wrong with a romantic comedy based on fantasy rather than reality. I'm willing to accept Reese as a ghost so long as that device is used for a purpose. I'm a big fan of fantasy and sci-fi because by creating nonrealistic worlds, these genres are able to comment upon the human condition. Lord of the Rings may be about elves and hobbits and dragons, but it's also about the devastation of war and the bond of friendship. The aliens on Star Trek aren't just fantastical creatures; they reflect the strengths and weaknesses of the human race. Creating a romantic pairing between a ghost and a man torn apart by the death of his wife could have been a beautiful way to comment on the nature of loss, the pains of regret, and the difficulty of connecting after tragedy. Instead, the film insists on devoting most of its run time to solving the mystery of Elizabeth's incorporeal-condition. Which means there is a lot of following clues and visiting mystic bookstores and very little in the way of character development. Towards the end, the filmmakers seem to realize that they should actually start building a connection between their two leads. By then, however, it's too late. A well-written and well-delivered speech about Mark Ruffalo's departed wife is too little too late. 

Despite an exciting couple in its leading roles, Just Like Heaven is not funny, not smart, and not romantic. If you're looking for a compelling ghost story, I'd stick with Ghostbusters.

Reality factor: Pretty much every character is an overblown stereotype and there’s no chemistry between the two leads. Oh and there’s that whole ghost thing. [0 out of 5]

Eye-candy factor: Mark Ruffalo. In a towel. [4 out of 5]

Aww factor: Alright, the part where he made her the garden did make me smile.  

[2 out of 5]

Review #4

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...

Released:1989

Director: Rob Reiner

Starring: Meg Ryan & Billy Crystal

Grade: B+

 

One of my favorite icebreakers is to ask people to name a movie they are embarrassed they’ve never seen. My go to answer is Fight Club, but When Harry Met Sally was a close second. When I spotted it at my local library on Friday, I decided it might be time to finally cross it off the never-seen list.

I wasn’t totally ignorant of the movie’s plot. I’ve seen the infamous orgasm-diner scene on various countdown shows and I’ve caught a few minutes while flipping through channels on TV. I went in with mostly fresh eyes, however, curious to see if the film would live up to its beloved reputation. The central question of the film is whether or not men and women can be friends without sex getting in the way. My question was whether the film would feel like a timeless love story or a dated flashback.

The final verdict is a little bit of both. As I was watching, I kept comparing the film to more contemporary portrayals of men, women, friendship and love. How I Met Your Mother and Friends deal with similar issues in a more recent era (albeit in sitcom form). What struck me is how much older the characters in When Harry Met Sally seem. Maybe it’s just the big hair and high-waisted jeans, but Harry, Sally and their friends seem to have a certain air of maturity that similarly aged characters on more modern shows don’t. It’s interesting to see how the world has changed in the past twenty years and how we portray people in their post-college, pre-marriage years. For all of their relationship dramas, Harry and Sally are depicted as fully-fledged adults with stable jobs and fantastic apartments. I feel like Rachel, Joey, Chandler, Ted, Robin and Marshall have a stronger connection to their youth, a sort of arrested-development made fashionable most recently by Judd Apatow.

After two random-meetings, Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan) finally become friends as they recover from rough breakups. There’s a real sense of two lonely people finding each other at the right time. Theirs is a friendship based on mutual-vulnerability tinged with nostalgia. Having been hurt by love, it’s understandable that Harry and Sally are looking for something else: a relationship without the risk of a breakup, someone you can call up in the middle of the night just to watch the last five minutes of Casablanca together. (On a side note, I love when people in movies talk about other movies. A lot of my friendships are based on our shared love of pop culture topics and it’s nice to see that represented on film.)

Ryan and Crystal have an easy sort of camaraderie and you get the feeling they had a great time goofing off between takes. I give Rob Reiner credit for creating a relaxed set, something that seems to be a signature of his films. (Wouldn’t you have loved to hang out on the set on The Princess Bride?) Even though Harry claims to have a dark side, the movie keeps the conflict light and the emotional turmoil fairly mellow. It’s almost too determined to keep things happy and frothy, and I wish the stakes felt a little higher. Harry and Sally's one big yelling match ends with an apology almost before it really begins.

Meg Ryan is charming in a wide-eyed kind of way. Sally has to be high-maintenance but still likable, and Ryan does a good job of toeing the line between endearing and annoying. Billy Crystal has a wonderful dry wit and easy charm that works well against Ryan’s buzzing energy.

It’s a slow, easy movie about anxious people with relatively trivial problems and I think there are two reasons it’s remembered so fondly. The first is the soundtrack. This was probably the biggest surprise to me as a first time viewer. The soundtrack is composed entirely of big band standards crooned by Harry Connick Jr. The use of these timeless songs was a brilliantly far-thinking choice that saves the movie from feeling too dated. Even if the shoulder pads ground the characters firmly in the late 1980s, the music connects Harry and Sally’s love story to something more classic. “It Had To Be You” is the thread that connects this one particular romance to romance in general, and it helps tie together the central plot with the interspersed interviews of other couples. The scope of the film is simultaneously small and large. Harry and Sally are just one couple with a love story in a world full of couples with love stories. The music gives a universal, ageless quality to the film.

The other reason I think the movie is remembered so fondly is because it really sticks the landing. I was taken aback by how much the last scene hit me in the gut. A playwriting teacher told me that in order to make something relatable, it needs to be specific. It’s a lesson Nora Ephron clearly took to heart in Harry’s final speech. It’s the details of getting cold when it’s 71 degrees and that little crinkle above her nose that makes their relationship feel real. It’s also a huge credit to Billy Crystal that he’s able to deliver a line like “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible” with just the right amount of edge to keep it from becoming pure schmaltz.

Reality factor: The movie takes it’s time (twelve years and three months) to build Harry and Sally’s relationship and it’s stronger for it. The specifics of each character feel real- maybe that’s because Harry was influenced by Rob Reiner and Sally by Nora Ephron (who orders in the same way Sally does). [4 out of 5]

Eye-candy factor: Bruno Kirby (as Carrie Fisher’s love interest) is no Han Solo. Billy Crystal has a nice smile, but thank goodness he’s funny.  [1 out of 5]

Aww factor: Never have neuroses been so charming. Major credit to everyone involved for making a New-Years-Eve-love-confession feel earned and genuine.
[3 out of 5]

Review #3

HIS GIRL FRIDAY  
Released: 1940
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Rosalind Russell & Cary Grant

Grade: B+

For years I’ve had friends (and one friend in particular) tell me how much I would love this movie. I had it recommended so many times that I purchased it before I’d ever seen it, something I very rarely do. (It was on sale for $5 so the investment was pretty minor.) I finally got around to watching it this afternoon and I can see why it came so highly recommended. I’ve always been a huge fan of old movies. Growing up, my dad and I would watch TCM for hours on end, with him filling in details on which actors and actresses he loved as a kid. I don’t know if it’s unusual for someone of my generation to have such an affinity for black and white movies. I certainly have plenty of friends who prefer Cary Grant to George Clooney, but I’m not sure whether that represents the majority of millennials (I’m still not sold on the name millennials, by the way). Because of my TCM-education, I fell easily into the rhythms of His Girl Friday.

His Girl Friday is a classic screwball comedy in the vein of The Philadelphia Story, Bringing Up Baby or Arsenic and Old Lace (to name a few of my other favorites). If you’re not familiar with the genre, Saturday Night Live did a great send-up of the screwball comedy (and this film in particular) on their Zooey Deschanel episode. (I like to imagine Kristen Wiig using this voice in the writer’s room until they finally agreed to write this sketch.) The Independent also wrote an article back in March explaining the origins and appeal of the screwball comedy. In order to battle strict censors who forbid sex onscreen, the screwball comedy had its central couple engage in a verbal relationship rather than a physical one. The screwball comedy was known for it’s high-speed, overlapping dialogue. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell reached a speed of up to 240 words a minute in this film. (According to Wikipedia, 150-160 words per minute is the most comfortable range for speaking). What really sets the screwball comedy apart for me is its use of deadpan. Hardly any joke is marked as such; instead they are delivered with utter conviction. It’s pretty much the exact opposite of the self-conscious awkwardness I mentioned in my review of No Strings Attached. No matter what ridiculous thing comes out of their mouths, none of these characters reveal for even a moment they are not deadly serious.

The plot is convoluted at best, but at its heart His Girl Friday centers around ace-reporter Hildy Johnson (Rosland Russell) and her ex-husband Walter Burns (Cary Grant), an editor who will do anything for a front page scoop. Hildy is all set to quit the newspaper business and settle down with her fiancé Bruce, a milquetoast insurance salesman who wants to provide her with the home and family Walter never did. There’s also a high profile murder case, lots of corrupt politicians and a handful of goofy reporter types running around. The script is adapted from a play called The Front Page and roughly follows the same plot. The film’s big twist was turning the play’s male Hildy into a female one. It’s a smart change that gives the movie a battle-of-the-sexes angle and creates a truly fantastic female heroine. Grant is superb and his knack for playing deadpan suits him beautifully here, but Russell really steals the show, giving a tour de force verbal and physical performance.

What surprised me most is how unfeminine Hildy is allowed to be. Of course she looks fantastic in pinstripe dresses and immaculate make-up, but it’s incredible how little her gender plays a role in defining her. When she needs to talk her way into an exclusive interview, I thought for sure Hildy would flirt her way past the guard. Instead she pulls out a $20 and bribes him, just like any male reporter might do. She even chases down and tackles a fleeing eyewitness, proving that she’s pretty much an all-around badass. Since it is 1940, there’s still talk of her “woman’s touch,” and the central conflict revolves around whether or not Hildy will quit her job to set up a home. Still, there’s never any doubt that she’s good at what she does. If she ends up quitting it’s because she wants to, not because she’s being forced out. In fact, Walter spends most of the movie trying to get her to stay with the paper. It’s easy to think back on the past as a time that generally sucked for women and it’s refreshing to see the kind of female characters that actually appeared on screen in the 1940s.

The film is best when it just lets its two leads riff off each other. Grant and Russell have such a clear connection that it’s impossible not to root for them. It’s a great example of showing rather than telling. We know Walter and Hildy are meant for each because of the natural way they communicate, bouncing zingers and one-liners off each other at record speeds. While fiancée Bruce is delightfully endearing, he can barely keep up with the conversation. I feel like most modern movies would give Bruce some sort of flaw that makes it crystal-clear why he’s wrong for Hildy. Instead we get to see that although he loves her deeply, he’s just not her intellectual equal.

As with the play, I think some of the script’s darker material clashes with the overall zany-vibe it’s going for. (There’s a scene where a prostitute throws herself out of a window and nearly dies.) Overall the plot is convoluted in a way that’s tiresome rather than thrilling. But when Russell and Grant are onscreen together, it’s truly a joy to watch.

Reality factor: Other than the chemistry of its two leads, there’s little reality in this zany comedy. [1 out of 5]

Eye-candy factor: Cary Grant’s usual charm is colored with the harsh edge of a hardnosed editor. [3 out of 5]

Aww factor: This film could be defined by its anti-sentimentality. Hildy and Walter show their love by fighting rather than smooching, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 
[1 out of 5]

**Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Apparently the film has been in the public domain since 1968 due to a failure to renew the copyright registration. (The play, which was written in 1928, is under copyright until 2024.) So if you’ve been dying to make a frame-by-frame remake with your friends, go right ahead.

Just For Fun...

TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN [Part One]

The Drinking Game

Faced with the prospect of a Friday night at home my roommate and I decided to create a Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One) drinking game. While the movie hardly merits a review, I thought this game was worthy of sharing. You can play along at your local premiere of Breaking Dawn- Part Two!

Take a drink anytime:

• Jacob takes his shirt off 
• Bella acts extra clumsy, proving she's just a "normal" girl
• Bella's dad is subtly hilarious
• Someone appears weirdly okay with the marriage of two eighteen-year-olds
• You spot a bad make-up job
• Alice is uber controlling of Bella's life
• Edward broods 
• Bella looks concerned
• There is a pro-life or pro-choice reference
• You are distracted by a cheap CGI wolf 
• BONUS: Take a shot anytime a CGI wolf starts talking
• Someone uses a character's name unnecessarily when talking to them
• Music choice seems to clash with the scene
• A vampire has unexplained super powers
• Bella's human friends are the best thing about the movie

Finish your drink when:

• You realize you've been watching a film for 117 minutes and there have been about 10 minutes of plot development

Review #2

NO STRINGS ATTACHED

 

Released: 2011

Director: Ivan Reitman

Starring: Natalie Portman & Ashton Kutcher

Grade: C+

Have you ever gone shopping with a friend who looks fantastic in everything but insists on complaining about how fat she looks? Watching No Strings Attached is kind of like that. The film centers around two impossibly attractive friends who have phenomenal sex and are generally perfect for each other and the only thing standing in the way of true happiness is their inability to commit. I understand that commitment can be a scary thing, it’s hard to get worked up about two characters we know are going to end up together. With romantic comedies, it’s not the destination that matters so much as the journey to get there- how the central relationship builds, how carefully the characters are fleshed out. While I can’t fault No Strings Attached for being predicable, I can fault it for being utterly boring.

Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher) are two long-term acquaintances who become friends after sleeping together. For reasons that are only vaguely explained, Emma is “allergic” to anything romantic and prefers her self-sufficient isolation to commitment. Adam is an affable aspiring-screenwriter with a famous dad who agrees to go along with her “friends with benefits” scheme. The script is generic; with dialogue so wooden you could build a house with it. The jokes fall flat, dramatic tension is mostly absent, and there is an overall desperate quality to appear young and hip, which results in a lot of uses of the f-word, drug references and dick jokes. 

Thankfully, the actors are game enough and their energy is the one thing that keeps the film afloat. What I appreciate most is how unabashedly weird all of the supporting players are. Self-aware awkwardness (think Michael Cera) is in vogue right now and this movie world is populated with hilariously self-conscious characters. Mindy Kaling, Jake Johnson and Lake Bell are particular standouts, wringing laughs out of lines that seem cringe worthy on paper.

The two leads don’t come off quite as well as their supporting cast mates. Ashton Kutcher rides along on his particular brand of boyish charm. I’m generally a fan of Kutcher’s work (Tweets excluded), but he’s giving the same performance he’s given in his past dozen films. It works well-enough if you’ve never seen another Kutcher vehicle, but it’s mostly familiar territory.

Then we get to Natalie Portman, who is really in a class of her own in this film. (She looks so uncannily like Giada De Laurentis that I kept expecting her to tell me how to use fresh mozzarella.) Emma is supposed to be an inaccessible, career-driven woman so afraid of getting hurt that she’s convinced herself it’s better not to feel anything. She’s a dark-and-twisty-Meredith-Grey type (to borrow from another doctor themed program). The only trouble is Portman doesn’t even for a moment manage to be anything other than vulnerable and flirtatious. But it’s just so charming to watch her try to play tough. Like watching a baby try and walk for the first time. She is putting a lot of effort in and it’s producing very few results, but she just looks so cute.

I had a hard time coming up with a final grade for this movie. It’s not good by any stretch of the imagination. It’s long and slow and the central relationship lacks any real stakes. Sure, I was bothered by the generic mid-life-crisis father and the scene in which two men argue over who deserves the girl without ever stopping to consider that she may have an opinion in the matter. I could raise issue with the fact that the movie presents menstruation as a literal plague that makes women unable to function and requires them to be spoon-fed soup. But at the same time I kind of enjoyed watching it. There were several genuinely funny moments (such as a drunken Emma instructing a cab driver to take her to “Adam’s house. Where Adam lives.”) Portman and Kutcher have an easy chemistry which never really ignites sparks, but instead simmers with a kind of friendly comfort. It’s a mediocre movie that is almost (almost) saved by its enjoyable cast.

Reality factor: Two super hot friends have great sex and get along perfectly and I’m supposed to feel bad that one is a commitment-phobe? [2 out of 5]

Eye-candy factor: I’ve always found Kutcher more goofy than hot, but if he’s your particular brand of man, you certainly get to see a lot of him in this film. [4 out of 5]

Aww factor: This is a film that largely avoids sentimentality in favor of comedy. I appreciate the commitment to staying away from schmaltz, but I could have done with a little bit more genuine connection between the two leads. [2 out of 5]

Review #1

Salmon Fishing in Yemen

Released: 2011

Director: Lasse Hallström

Starring: Emily Blunt & Ewan McGregor  

Grade: C

While watching Salmon Fishing in Yemen, it’s hard not to think about the films that might have been: a probing piece about the difficulties of bridging the cultural gap between East and West, a satirical criticism of the highly stage-managed political realm, or even just a simple romantic drama about two people torn between obligation and the spark of something new. Rather than being greater than the sum of its parts, Salmon Fishing winds up being a confused, uneven film that never really finds a tone or voice.

I went in to this film with high hopes. Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt are two phenomenal actors who often manage to rise above weaker material. Unfortunately, the two stars lack even a flicker of chemistry and the romance that is supposed to ground the film falls flat. To be fair, however, I’m not quite sure the film sets out to be a romantic romp. The plot is messy and unfocused, but since McGregor (as Dr. Alfred “Fred” Jones) and Blunt (as Harriet Chetwode-Talbot) seem to have the most screen time, one can only assume their growing friendship is supposed to be the heart of the film. Harriet’s employer, a rich Yemen sheik (Amr Waked), decides to import salmon fishing, one of his favorite Western hobbies, to his Middle Eastern homeland. Fred, a salmon expert in the fisheries branch of the government, is brought on as a consultant for the project. Harriet is beautiful, confident, and sardonic. Harry is quiet, awkward, and socially challenged. Their romance is complicated by the fact that Fred is married and Harriet’s recently-acquired soldier boyfriend goes MIA in combat.

While the struggle to bring salmon fishing to a desert climate would presumably be enough to dominate a film, Salmon Fishing insists on tossing in a handful of tangentially related storylines as well. The Prime Minister’s press secretary Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas) initially puts pressure on the project as a goodwill-fluff-piece designed to counteract bad news out of the Middle East. She later leaves the project, only to return when Harriet’s presumably dead boyfriend winds up miraculously alive and she smells another photo op. This political storyline is probably the film’s most bizarre. It adds a quirky, mocking tone which clashes with the film’s otherwise optimistic, character-based form of storytelling. It also leads to a bizarre (but rather funny) scene in which Patricia simultaneously sends her children off to school while arguing on the phone about the Prime Minister’s image. It’s an enjoyable scene, but it only vaguely relates to the rest of the film and serves to further the disjointed storytelling Salmon Fishing seems to think is charming.

The other plotline that seems to be pulled from an entirely different film involves a group of local militants hell-bent on assassinating the sheik and sabotaging the fishing project. While it’s meant to show the difficulties of bringing together Western and Eastern culture (the fishing project feels imposed from an arrogant outside power and is thus distrusted by locals) it winds up feeling like a stereotypical use of the Middle-Eastern-terrorist archetype designed to add some tension to the film’s third act. The return of Harriet’s boyfriend and the who-will-she-pick dance that ensues also feels largely shoehorned in.

The film ventures into dark territory- terrorism, disintegrating marriages, casualties of war, but insists on ending with hokey schlock. The fish miraculously survive the destruction of their dam, Harriet chooses to stay with Fred and continue the project, and Patricia and the PM make fun of the foreign secretary over iChat. The disparate tones give Salmon Fishing a schizophrenic quality that ultimately drains the film of heart and turns what could have been a quiet character study into an uneven muddle.

Reality factor: Props for building Fred and Harriet’s relationship slowly and somewhat awkwardly. Their friendship feels grounded in reality (so long as you ignore the groan-inducing scene in which Fred saves the sheik’s life using a fishing line). [4 out of 5]

Eye-candy factor: Tom Mison (as Harriet’s boyfriend Robert) is easy on the eyes, but is hardly in the film long enough to make much of an impression. Ewan McGregor’s normal charm is hidden behind a dowdy exterior. [2 out of 5]

Aww factor: Fred’s timid awkwardness is surprisingly touching, as is the scene where he brings Harriet a homemade sandwich because he’s worried she has forgotten to eat in her time of crisis. Overall though, the central romance is more stilted than aww-inducing. [3 out of 5]