Movies
A mushy feel-good film where all men are gentlemen and women are successful CEOs. There's a little chemistry between De Niro and Hathaway, but it's mostly just a lot of wishful thinking and unpleasant melodrama. I'm not the target audience, clearly, but at least the first 30 minutes had a few good snickers.
A rather dreary romcom by Nancy Meyers. I understand the film's supposed to be funny, but it's really rather sad, and the comedy itself isn't very refined either. It's obvious the film relies on its leads to make the best of it, but Keaton and Nicholson are merely running on autopilot here. Harry is an infamous bachelor who loves dating younger women. When Marin's mother crashes their little weekend getaway, Harry feels unwelcome, but he is also strangely attracted to Marin's mom. Unequipped to handle a mature relationship, Harry struggles to get his emotions under control. There are no surprises here, just two somewhat bitter characters who do a little pull & push dance. Meyers' direction is uninspired, the cast doesn't seem very invested either. Nicholson is somewhat amusing, even though he hardly makes an effort, but that's about the only thing that keeps it watchable. Not very good.Read all
When Hollywood tackles the male/female divide, it can't end well. Not even when a woman directs the film. Nancy Meyers delivers a 2-hour cringefest, filled with dry clichés and failures to make fun of them. The romance angle is also a complete misfire. It's crazy to think two decades ago this was a veritable blockbuster. An old-fashioned marketing guru finds himself cramped by a more female-dominated world. When he gets electrocuted, he is suddenly able to hear the inner thoughts of women. At first, he is annoyed and wants things to return to normal as quickly as possible, but then he begins to see the benefit of his skill. Gibson and Hunt are a terrible duo, the characters are annoying, the tension simplistic and the comedy lacks any kind of edge. Don't watch this film for the cinematography or score either, apart from some token Sinatra songs there's nothing of note here. A very bad film, misguided and forgettable.Read all