Top End Wedding

On Sunday I screened Top End Wedding, starring Miranda Tapsell and Gwilym Lee.

Lauren (Tapsell) and Ned (Lee) are in love and planning a whirlwind ceremony for their nuptials in 10 days, hut there's a complication—Lauren's mother is missing. They must find her or their perfect Top End Wedding will not happen.

What starts as a plane trip becomes a road trip and a journey deep into family dynamics and secrets from the past emerge, as if on cue. It's all executed in a comedic, fun way, but the real themes that anchor the story keep the film grounded enough to have meaning.

It's also an exploration of the merging of cultures (the bride's mother comes from an indigenous Australian tribe) and the traditions that come along with being part of something so sacred.

I very much enjoyed the fast-paced vibe of this film set in gorgeous remote areas of Australia. The characters were likeable (even those who were specifically supposed to serve as the opposite) and
the scenery breathtaking.

A satisfying romp with genuine roots.

~~~

Top End Wedding screened at the 45th Annual Seattle International Film Festival.

Heartbreaker

Today I saw Heartbreaker, starring Vanessa Paradis and Romain Duris.

We all have loved ones with partners we'd like to trade. Whether they be adulterous or simply annoying, at some point we all fantasize about breaking said couples up, but seldom follow through.

However, if there were a breakup-for-hire third party who we could solicit to do our dirty work, would we take the risk?

Many would, according to the premise of this film.

Alex (Duris) makes a living seducing women out of their current relationships with the help of his sister and her dim-witted husband. He makes it a rule not to break up what he perceives to be "happy" couples and ends his pairings immediately after accomplishing his task.

The father of Juliette (Paradis) has commissioned him for a rush-project of sorts—her wedding to a Brit they're not fond of is due to take place in a matter of days, so Alex will have to work fast to win her over.

During his "research" of the client, he learns she loves George Michael music and quickly rigs the car with vintage Wham! hits (though the way he achieves it seems needlessly elaborate). He also begins memorizing her favorite movie, Dirty Dancing, to learn the dance moves of Patrick Swayze's character.

Alex poses as Juliette's bodyguard to gain 24/7 access to her, and like many formulaic romantic comedies, he doesn't like her at first. She is the pampered princess; he the working-class simpleton.

Of course that changes, and he begins to make progress on his mission, but this is where the movie lost me. Vanessa is model-beautiful and her husband-to-be is Prince Charming handsome. Alex is skinny, somewhat unclean and sloppy. His actions are so exaggerated he comes off as a buffoon and the way he conveys his "love" for the things she adores isn't terribly convincing.

Throw in the slapstick nature of the supporting characters (his sister and brother-in-law, and her sex-crazed best friend) and all of the sweetness of the idea here is gone.

I enjoyed the leading lady's performance, but without a believable match for her to have to decide between, this film just couldn't work as it was intended.

I may have to cleanse my palette and throw good-old Dirty Dancing into the DVD player.

~~~

Leap Year

Tonight I saw Leap Year, starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

I'll start by saying, yes, I knew it would be terrible. But I needed a mindless girl movie tonight, and I suppose I deserved what I got.

Adams plays Anna, and the "A" stands for "Type-A." She stages apartments for a living in Boston and organizes the life of herself and her boyfriend for fun. Jeremy (Adam Scott) is an impressive cardiologist who is good to her, but has not yet popped the question, though they've been together for four years. When he travels to Dublin on business, Anna sees it as her opportunity to follow an Irish superstition and propose to him on February 29. All she needs to do is make it to Dublin and surprise him before then. She has one day...or maybe two days until the 29th. Ah, who cares? You know where this is going.

First, there's (scary, sudden) turbulence on her plane so they have to make an emergency landing in Cardiff. This is handled by the airline almost as nonchalantly as running out of gas with a AAA truck behind you on the highway.

Once Anna lands in Wales, she tries to convince the ticket agents to "re-open" the Dublin airport and when that (shockingly) doesn't work, she rents a boat. Somehow instead of ending up in Dublin, in the midst of the storm she finds herself on a tiny road in a remote Dingle village.

The locals nearly laugh her out of the pub she wanders into (tugging her Louis Vutton bag closely behind), but she has nowhere else to go, so she stays there for the night. What follows is the scene I was hoping wouldn't happen: the obligatory American Woman knocks out the town's power trying to plug in her Blackberry™.

But wait, it gets worse.

The pub owner just happens to be Declan (Goode), who is rough around the edges, but undeniably cute. He agrees (for a large sum) to drive her to Dublin the next day. Small talk turns into sexual tension (via "arguing") and then a herd of cows delay their trip. You heard me: a Herd of Cows. On an Irish country road. The only thing surprising about this scene was that it was cows, not sheep.

Anyway, because of some ridiculous chain of events caused by Anna's American princess impatience, they're soon car-less and back on the road. And they miss a train. And they have to stay in a charming Bed & Breakfast, pretending of course to be married because the old Irish folk wouldn't rent the room to a sinning couple.

I won't even bore you with the rest because you already know what happens. How it happens isn't even difficult to decode.

I'm just incredibly disappointed these delightful actors took the roles because the material was way beneath their talent. Perhaps they just wanted the free time in Ireland? I should hope that was the reason.

And I hope they never do it again.

The Hangover

Tonight I saw The Hangover, starring Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis.

I never expected to laugh this hard at a guy buddy movie.

You see, a couple days before Doug (Justin Bartha) is scheduled to get married, his buddies Phil (Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms) and future brother-in-law Alan (Galifianakis) take him to Las Vegas for a bachelor party. Pretty normal scenario, yes? Sure, it is. Until everything goes horribly wrong.

First, Phil decides that the double rooms they've booked won't be good enough for their one-night party, so he talks the group into reserving the $4000+ suite, which the desk clerk refers to as "pretty awesome."

Then Alan, the obligatory "overweight guy" who desperately wants to fit in, pours everyone a shot of Jagermeister on the rooftop of Caesar's Palace and toasts the occasion. After that, no one remembers a thing until the men (minus Doug) wake up in their completely trashed environment amongst food, vomit, broken glass, live chickens, a baby and Mike Tyson's tiger. Yes, Mike Tyson's tiger.

In an attempt to find the missing groom, the men re-trace their forgotten steps using credit card receipts, eyewitness accounts—even a hospital wristband—only to encounter surly doctors, giddy wedding chapel owners, Chinese mobsters and (thankfully) the baby's mother.

To give away even one of the hilarious scenarios or jokes would screw up the fast-paced rhythm of this comedy, so I'll refrain. But I will say, with very little bathroom humor, screenwriters Jon Lucas and Scott Moore manage to make scene after scene laugh-out-loud funny.

While most of the dialog is surely geared toward men, the majority of what happens to them is universally funny. Old-fashioned slapstick in some ways; cleverly sarcastic in others.

Overall, a very satisfying, silly romp leading up to perhaps the best end credits since Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

~~~

I Love You, Man

Yesterday I saw I Love You, Man, starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segal.

We all know men like realtor Peter Klaven (Rudd): good looking, well-groomed, straight guys who surround themselves with armies of female friends, but lack severely in the 'dude' department.

We also know men like Sydney Fife (Segal): fun-loving, independent bachelors who are left behind after all of their buddies graduate into marriage and fatherhood.

What a genius idea to bring these two characters together.

The stage is set with Peter, madly in love with Zooey (Rashida Jones), proposing to her in a romantic city setting. She excitedly accepts his proposal and the wedding plans are thrust into motion. The only small problem is that she has several attendants and he doesn't even have a best man.

So...he tries to find one, by going on "man-dates" with random guys he's set up with by family and friends (Jane Curtain is a great cast bonus as his mom). After many comical attempts, his best man soul mate appears at one of his open houses (when he's "not looking" as true love usually appears) and changes everything.

Instead of Peter's world revolving around Zooey, it begins to revolve around Sydney, because he's never enjoyed such a friendship before. While she's happy for him at first, of course jealousy does eventually set in and both relationships are put in jeopardy.

Aside from a few unnecessary "gross" scenes involving vomit and a dog relieving itself, this was a very refreshing, cute movie with a host of appealing characters.

Rashida Jones shines as the likable finance, Jon Favreau is hilarious as an angry husband of one of Zooey's friends, and Andy Samburg plays the groom's openly gay brother in a realistic, non-stereotypical way.

If you need a laugh, check it out.

Rachel Getting Married

Tonight I saw Rachel Getting Married, starring Anne Hathaway and Rosemarie DeWitt.

It was the topic of Cinebanter #62, which is available here.