Baggage Claim (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
'Baggage Claim', a mostly unfunny, painfully contrived romantic comedy which suggests that women can't find true happiness without a husband {UGH -- talk about sending women back to the 1950s}. Montana Moore (Paula Patton) seems to have it all. She loves her job as a flight attendant & has a fantastic apartment in Baltimore, Maryland. She has friends who care for her (Jill Scott, Adam Brody). So life is good. Right? Nope. You see, Montana is in her 30s {oh, the horror} & has yet to marry. This upsets Montana's overbearing mother (Jenifer Lewis), especially since her youngest daughter is about to marry, herself.
With mounting family pressure as well as the notion that having your younger sister beat you to the altar means you're a huge failure ... Montana becomes hell bent on finding a spouse in 30 days or less. Because finding a man to marry in 30 days is a tall order, Montana (and her pals) determine that focusing in on old fling(s) could be the right path {are you believing what I'm writing here, 'cause I can barely believe I'm writing it, myself}. So. What does Montana do? She uses her airline connections to look up old boyfriends & then makes sure that she ends up on the same flights as those men. Boyyy, this movie stinks, haha.
Beyond the absurd plot points {ahem, so every single man she has ever dated happens to be flying in the same 30-day period? ... riiiiiiight}, this find-a-man-in-30-days tactic turns Montana into a fairly scatterbrained, shallow, unappealing character. She becomes shrill, befuddled, a bit desperate {SO unappealing to me}, and ultimately demeans herself with each ex-suitor who comes & goes without success. So as written - or perhaps, as acted - it's never clear exactly who Montana is or what makes her happy. We never learn her real interests (outside of flying on planes), her life goals (outside of husband hunting), or her true passions. And yet ... we're supposed to root for her. You know, I typically enjoy Paula Patton. But I found her disingenuous & irksome in this role.
Other issues I have with the film - well, let's see. The ending is telegraphed 5 minutes into the movie, and that's never a good thing. SO many scenes play-out like you're watching some bad television sitcom. Setups are labored. Punch lines are both obvious & stale. The dialogue is fairly awful. Jill Scott's over-the-top performance as Montana's "best friend" {yeah right} hits too many inauthentic notes; and the comedy she goes for is too broad. Montana's male gay friend played by Adam Brody is as stereotypically GAY MAN as they come. His character, as written, will insult many a homosexual person.
The ensemble cast is chock-full of talented black actors & actresses who deserve much, much better. They including Patton, Derek Luke {somebody give this man a great leading role!}, Taye Diggs, and even the wildly talented Djimon Hounsou. The cast tries & tries & TRIES to make this movie good/entertaining. They come close - in fits & starts - to making 'Baggage Claim' bearable/palatable ... but there's just very, very little they can do with this unfortunate material. And so, aside from a few stolen moments that brought a smile to my face, this cliched, sappy, tone-deaf rom com should never have had lift off in the first place.
With mounting family pressure as well as the notion that having your younger sister beat you to the altar means you're a huge failure ... Montana becomes hell bent on finding a spouse in 30 days or less. Because finding a man to marry in 30 days is a tall order, Montana (and her pals) determine that focusing in on old fling(s) could be the right path {are you believing what I'm writing here, 'cause I can barely believe I'm writing it, myself}. So. What does Montana do? She uses her airline connections to look up old boyfriends & then makes sure that she ends up on the same flights as those men. Boyyy, this movie stinks, haha.
Beyond the absurd plot points {ahem, so every single man she has ever dated happens to be flying in the same 30-day period? ... riiiiiiight}, this find-a-man-in-30-days tactic turns Montana into a fairly scatterbrained, shallow, unappealing character. She becomes shrill, befuddled, a bit desperate {SO unappealing to me}, and ultimately demeans herself with each ex-suitor who comes & goes without success. So as written - or perhaps, as acted - it's never clear exactly who Montana is or what makes her happy. We never learn her real interests (outside of flying on planes), her life goals (outside of husband hunting), or her true passions. And yet ... we're supposed to root for her. You know, I typically enjoy Paula Patton. But I found her disingenuous & irksome in this role.
Other issues I have with the film - well, let's see. The ending is telegraphed 5 minutes into the movie, and that's never a good thing. SO many scenes play-out like you're watching some bad television sitcom. Setups are labored. Punch lines are both obvious & stale. The dialogue is fairly awful. Jill Scott's over-the-top performance as Montana's "best friend" {yeah right} hits too many inauthentic notes; and the comedy she goes for is too broad. Montana's male gay friend played by Adam Brody is as stereotypically GAY MAN as they come. His character, as written, will insult many a homosexual person.
The ensemble cast is chock-full of talented black actors & actresses who deserve much, much better. They including Patton, Derek Luke {somebody give this man a great leading role!}, Taye Diggs, and even the wildly talented Djimon Hounsou. The cast tries & tries & TRIES to make this movie good/entertaining. They come close - in fits & starts - to making 'Baggage Claim' bearable/palatable ... but there's just very, very little they can do with this unfortunate material. And so, aside from a few stolen moments that brought a smile to my face, this cliched, sappy, tone-deaf rom com should never have had lift off in the first place.