Down with Love (C or 2/4 stars)
As an homage to the early 1960's 'sex comedies' that starred Doris Day & Rock Hudson (Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, etc.), Peyton Reed's 'Down with Love' follows a best-selling female advice author, Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger), who tells her female readers that they don't need men. Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) is the sly playboy journalist who'll go undercover to debunk Barbara's book; he'll try to get her to fall for him. This tongue-in-cheek movie has its charms. Its bubble gum-colored production designs are authentic. But the film ultimately falls short on charisma.
Barbara, a farm girl from Maine, has hit the jackpot in New York. Her book, 'Down with Love', directs women to take control of their own lives, have sex like men ... love 'em & leave 'em. Catcher is a known ladies man who has no problem getting any woman he wants. Seeing Barbara as the ultimate challenge, he thrusts himself upon her but she completely denies him! Furious at her defiance, he uses his journalist skills and goes undercover as 'Zip Martin, an astronaut from Cocoa Beach, Florida' (get the 60's reference?). He aims to destroy her reputation and fame by making her fall in love. A game of cat & mouse ensues. And before we know it, Barbara, Catcher/Zip, her publicist friend (Sarah Paulson), and Catcher's boss (David Hyde Pierce) is entangled in one big romantic farce.
Will everything go to plan ... can Catcher/Zip humiliate Barbara, essentially ending her reign as female liberator? Will anyone be able to detect what 'Zip' is doing before Barbara allows herself to fall in love with him? How would Catcher be able to explain himself if/when Barbara discovers his true identity? You find out in this contrived tale of mistaken identities, saucy secrets, and shticky, schmaltzy romance.
I enjoyed the first 1/2 of the film. The set design decor is beautiful. There are great references to 60's pop culture. Ex: a scene where Barbara rides in a car with that ultra-fake background of traffic moving all around her. And, the presence of Tony Randall in the film lends an air of 60's elegance. See, the film aims to poke fun at the 60's film genre, while creating a 100 minute sweet, sexy, silly fluff-ball diversion. It's hit & miss. Some gags & double entendres go overboard. And just like the Doris Day pictures, the characters break out in song when the moment seems 'just right'. Some numbers are fun, most are tedious.
When I say tedious, I mean, the 100 minutes feels longer than it really should. You can only take so many faux-Cavalier, traipse, bop, nudge, wink-wink moments before it gets too ridiculous. I suppose it's the overall chemistry btwn. Zellweger & McGregor that does it. I like both actors, they have some moments, but overall, you don't believe they're in love. Thus, the whole point of the movie fails. Zellweger has comedy in her, but it doesn't come across well in this thin plotline. McGregor is a love him or hate him type. If you hate him, you'll hate this movie. 'Down with Love' looks great, but falls haplessly short on wit.
Barbara, a farm girl from Maine, has hit the jackpot in New York. Her book, 'Down with Love', directs women to take control of their own lives, have sex like men ... love 'em & leave 'em. Catcher is a known ladies man who has no problem getting any woman he wants. Seeing Barbara as the ultimate challenge, he thrusts himself upon her but she completely denies him! Furious at her defiance, he uses his journalist skills and goes undercover as 'Zip Martin, an astronaut from Cocoa Beach, Florida' (get the 60's reference?). He aims to destroy her reputation and fame by making her fall in love. A game of cat & mouse ensues. And before we know it, Barbara, Catcher/Zip, her publicist friend (Sarah Paulson), and Catcher's boss (David Hyde Pierce) is entangled in one big romantic farce.
Will everything go to plan ... can Catcher/Zip humiliate Barbara, essentially ending her reign as female liberator? Will anyone be able to detect what 'Zip' is doing before Barbara allows herself to fall in love with him? How would Catcher be able to explain himself if/when Barbara discovers his true identity? You find out in this contrived tale of mistaken identities, saucy secrets, and shticky, schmaltzy romance.
I enjoyed the first 1/2 of the film. The set design decor is beautiful. There are great references to 60's pop culture. Ex: a scene where Barbara rides in a car with that ultra-fake background of traffic moving all around her. And, the presence of Tony Randall in the film lends an air of 60's elegance. See, the film aims to poke fun at the 60's film genre, while creating a 100 minute sweet, sexy, silly fluff-ball diversion. It's hit & miss. Some gags & double entendres go overboard. And just like the Doris Day pictures, the characters break out in song when the moment seems 'just right'. Some numbers are fun, most are tedious.
When I say tedious, I mean, the 100 minutes feels longer than it really should. You can only take so many faux-Cavalier, traipse, bop, nudge, wink-wink moments before it gets too ridiculous. I suppose it's the overall chemistry btwn. Zellweger & McGregor that does it. I like both actors, they have some moments, but overall, you don't believe they're in love. Thus, the whole point of the movie fails. Zellweger has comedy in her, but it doesn't come across well in this thin plotline. McGregor is a love him or hate him type. If you hate him, you'll hate this movie. 'Down with Love' looks great, but falls haplessly short on wit.