Change Your Image
jeyvars
Reviews
The Wedding Date (2005)
Charming
The first 3/4+ of the film are surprisingly good. I expected to watch 5 minutes of it and turn it off, but the charm of the actors and much of the writing keeps the story worth watching. The key to it all is Dermot Mulroney.
What is interesting though, is that he is not all that great looking. But as soon as he speaks, as soon as his character begins, he becomes incredibly irresistible . He absorbs the role to the point where all women want to absorb him.
As usual, everyone's too perfect looking, always with their hair professionally done, blue/green eyes, etc. The setting is ridiculously rich and storybook. A some points I found myself rolling my eyes with all the perfection going on wondering 'do these people ever even use the bathroom?' Just very flowery, the whole setting has a kind of fairyland quality to it.
Deborah Messing is totally charming and perfectly cast. She plays the same character type in Along Came Polly, so you've seen it before. She has so much natural charisma, it's ridiculous, with a je ne sais quoi quality that few possess, even her facial expressions are hilarious.
Dermot Mulroney though, is on a different level. He has such a deep understanding of the part, such a believable, sultry confidence, combined with sensitivity and vulnerability. His character specializes in the ability to completely sense what woman wants and needs. It's not necessarily sex, and it is his understanding of this concept that makes his character so rich.
And ooo-la-la does he nail it. His hurt and sensitivity when she blacks out and doesn't even remember their night together on the boat is pitch perfect. When he dances with her, it is absolutely erotic.... yum yum. He's what keeps the movie so engaging. What a good actor. Makes me want to watch more of his movies.
The support cast is really good too. I can't think of a sour note. Funny, engaging, believable. Well cast.
So yeah, the movie was really good for the first 3/4+ of run time. Then the ending happened. Well, that's that. Way too silly and unrealistic, as if the writers and production company just lost interest. Too bad, Dermot and Deborah were capable of so much more..
Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (2011)
Really good movie
This is a charming movie and could have been much better. Jane Fonda, of course, made it fabulous, both from an acting standpoint and just her very presence. She is amazing. Jeffery Dean Morgan stole every scene he was in, a really intelligent, kind actor. Catherine Keener is so perfectly cast, understated and vulnerable. Their relationship should have gotten more screen time and have been much more developed.
Marissa O'Donnell and Nat Wolff are both adorable here and their relationship together is very believable.
I did not like the role of Elizabeth Olsen. She is an interesting actress, but her dialogue and life experience seemed too mature for her and her relationship with the butcher felt beyond them. Their scenes together did not work and I found myself fast-forwarding through them the second time I watched it.