This ought to be a really sad movie but Kate Hudson's character Marley is one of those people who refuse to be miserable and that makes all the difference. I note, reading from Kate's biography on IMDb, that she is very like Marley and lights up a room when she enters. But then what else would you expect from Goldie's little girl?
The story is a well-worn one of a beautiful young woman who discovers she is dying from terminal cancer and I almost wonder if it would be possible to include any spoilers in a review since everything is pretty predictable. Nevertheless, this is definitely one of those feel-good movies that you feel glad you watched when it comes to its inevitable end. Gael Garcia Bernal was new to me but I felt that he played his part very well as an immigrant Mexican doctor in the USA. His attempts to tell American jokes was particularly delightful and well acted. I would like to see more of him (although a little dental work might help!).
If there is one small thing about this movie that really annoyed me, it was the post love scene between Marley and one of her boyfriends fairly early in the picture. OK, Kate Hudson is a nice girl who obviously doesn't want to do naked shots and that's fine. But, right after making passionate love with a guy, would she really still be wearing a bra? That was an insult to the viewers' intelligence! Now I'm not advocating that actresses should abrogate their principals and bare all just because the plot calls for it (although, these days, it's pretty "normal" and doesn't bother me), but you have to agree, that shot just didn't look right! If Kate wanted to preserve her modesty, then it would have been better for her to have simply remained under the sheet. This would seem to me nothing more than bad directing which is a pity because everything else was very good.
If I learned anything from this movie, it was for any post-death function that my family and friends may see fit to stage. I only want half a funeral - the FUN part! The (f)eral part they can forget!
The story is a well-worn one of a beautiful young woman who discovers she is dying from terminal cancer and I almost wonder if it would be possible to include any spoilers in a review since everything is pretty predictable. Nevertheless, this is definitely one of those feel-good movies that you feel glad you watched when it comes to its inevitable end. Gael Garcia Bernal was new to me but I felt that he played his part very well as an immigrant Mexican doctor in the USA. His attempts to tell American jokes was particularly delightful and well acted. I would like to see more of him (although a little dental work might help!).
If there is one small thing about this movie that really annoyed me, it was the post love scene between Marley and one of her boyfriends fairly early in the picture. OK, Kate Hudson is a nice girl who obviously doesn't want to do naked shots and that's fine. But, right after making passionate love with a guy, would she really still be wearing a bra? That was an insult to the viewers' intelligence! Now I'm not advocating that actresses should abrogate their principals and bare all just because the plot calls for it (although, these days, it's pretty "normal" and doesn't bother me), but you have to agree, that shot just didn't look right! If Kate wanted to preserve her modesty, then it would have been better for her to have simply remained under the sheet. This would seem to me nothing more than bad directing which is a pity because everything else was very good.
If I learned anything from this movie, it was for any post-death function that my family and friends may see fit to stage. I only want half a funeral - the FUN part! The (f)eral part they can forget!