Romance

Cyrano

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Cyrano
  • IMDb: link

While it may not be my favorite adaptation of Edmond Rostand‘s 19th Century play, Cyrano proves to be a perfect vehicle for Peter Dinklage who shines as the title character. Our brave and witty protagonist yearns for the beautiful Roxanne (Haley Bennett) only to see her attentions fall on the gaze of a strapping young soldier (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) instead, who Cyrano agrees to help woo the woman they both love while hiding the depth of his true feelings from them both.

All the basic trappings from the story are here including Ben Mendelsohn as yet another, more villainous, rival for Roxanne’s affections and the humorous balcony sequence in yet another stylish period piece from director Joe Wright. Added to the mix are a number of musical numbers which vacillate between additions or distractions from the main plot at various points in the tale.

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Marry Me

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Marry Me
  • IMDb: link

With a pair of likable stars and a braindead romcom plot, Marry Me is pretty much exactly what you would expect. The unlikley pairing between celebrity Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) and schoolteacher Charlie Gibert (Owen Wilson) comes about through convoluted means when his friend (Sarah Silverman) drags him to Kat’s live concert where her live engagement goes sideways due to her fiancé’s (Maluma) infidelity and she marries a random member of the audience instead.

The saving grace to balance the inherit weakness to the plot is the charm of the two stars. And Lopez and Owens are good here as characters who seem smarter than to get themselves mixed up in such a ridiculous circumstance. An American version of Notting Hill with a heavy amount of social media and brand perception thrown in, Marry Me is far from a must-see, but if you are forced to sit down for a romcom, you could certainly do worse.

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A Nice Girl Like You

/ / Home Video
  • Title: A Nice Girl Like You
  • IMDb: link

A Nice Girl Like You DVD reviewLucy Hale stars as pornophobic violinist who attempts to become less inhibited following her break-up with her boyfriend (Stephen Friedrich). Adapted from Ayn Carrillo Gailey’s book Pornology, the idea for the film is to follow the misadventures of a “good girl” investigating the world of pornography and sexual enlightenment with the help of her friends (Mindy Cohn, Jackie Cruz, and Adhir Kalyan) while also dating a new man (Leonidas Gulaptis) and struggling to earn a prestigious position with the New York Philharmonic.

While the book has received praise for being witty and hilarious, the film far is more luke-warm romcom than edgy sexcapade. Hale is likable enough in the role of the wide-eyed innocent entering a different world out of curiosity, and to prove something to herself, but the script doesn’t offer much of interest despite the subject matter. And for a film presumably based on real-life experiences, A Nice Girl Like You too often feels cliched and over-the-top. Some of the “humor” involves a horse taking a huge crap during a wedding, a public humiliation from a sexual psychic (Nadia Quinn), and a “cute” pregnancy scare.

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Happiest Season

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Happiest Season
  • IMDb: link

Happiest Season movie reviewHappiest Season puts a twist on your typical meet the parents film as Harper (Mackenzie Davis) invites her girlfriend Abby (Kristen Stewart) home with her for the holidays. However, on the road, Harper reveals her conservative parents (Victor Garber and Mary Steenburgen) don’t know that she is gay or that Abby is her girlfriend. This leads Abby to play the role of roommate in need of a place to stay over the holidays. It doesn’t take long for the role to weigh heavy on Abby as the film’s romcom shenanigans also give Harper’s parents the wrong impression of her.

The set-up of a strong conservative patriarch with a family too scared to tell him the truth reminded me of Merry Happy Whatever with Stewart playing a combination of the Brent Morin and Ashley Tisdale characters. Although the film is primarily centered on Harper, her sisters (Alison Brie and Mary Holland) also have their own secrets and resentments. The cast is further filled out by Dan Levy as Harper’s support line, Aubrey Plaza as Harper’s secret high school girlfriend, and Jake McDorman as Harper’s high school boyfriend who Harper’s parents are cluelessly trying to set-up with Harper over the holidays.

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Top End Wedding

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Top End Wedding
  • IMDb: link

Top End Wedding movie reviewDirector Wayne Blair‘s Top End Wedding may be a tad formulaic, but it’s not without its charms. The Australian film stars Miranda Tapsell and Gwilym Lee as a couple in a rush to get married only to discover the mother of the bride (Ursula Yovich) has gone missing with less than 10 days until the ceremony. As the happy couple head off on a road trip in search of the missing matriarch, which showcases both the strengths and weaknesses of their relationship, the ceremony is left in the hands of the heart-broken father of the bride (Huw Higginson), bridesmaids, and the bride’s workaholic boss (Kerry Fox).

The script by Miranda Tapsell and Joshua Tyler plays on some predictable romcom cliches, although it also dedicates substantial time to building the relationship of the core characters making the hijinx a bit easier to swallow. The likability of the two stars and the beautiful shots of Northern Australia certainly don’t hurt either. There may be few surprises, but the journey that touches on generations of relationships is smarter than many romantic comedies.

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