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| A Lot Like Love
Directed By: Nigel Cole Plot
Summary - Review 1 - Review
2 - CURRENT REVIEWS
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| On a flight from Los Angeles to New York, Oliver (Kutcher) and Emily (Peet) make a connection, only to decide that they are poorly suited to be together. Over the next seven years, however, they are reunited time and time again, they go from being acquaintances to close friends to ... lovers? [TRAILER] I like the title of the film, because I like the way the movie itself skews the accepted view of the term “love.” In the movies, love has come to mean something far different than it means in real life. In the cinema, people are attracted to others in a certain way, converse in a certain way, court in a certain way, and express their feelings in a certain way. Like so many genres today, to encounter a romance is to already know where its destination lies. And there is a certain pleasure to this. When a film palys out exactly as you expect, and you feel smarter than the world you’re observing, it’s as if you’re a mini God, residing over your own universe. What a delight it is then to realize, before a film’s credits are even over, that the story has already jumped beyond the avenue of the expected or the predictable. Most romances build to that fateful kiss, when the woman swoons and the man leans down – when that magic spark lifts both up to a higher plane. But in “A Lot Like Love,” it does not take 120 minutes to get there, but merely 120 seconds. Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet) meet through random sex. Now take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay. (Though parents should be aware: Somehow this film has been rated PG-13, which I should strongly caution you to take as a serious PG-13, verging on R) For some reason, few romances, and almost no romantic comedies, really deal with sex. It seems these works would have us believe that the euphoria stops at the kiss, the next step is the wedding and children only arrive via stork. But not in “A Lot Like Love.” They meet thanks to sex, and only over the course of a day in New York City do they realize they have something to talk about. The film then plays out over the course of six years where, much like “When Harry Met Sally,” they continue to flow in and out of each other’s lives. Sometimes it’s because they have just been dumped. Other times it is because they are lonely. In still other episodes, they legitimately think of the person fondly and seek them out. Or maybe their attraction is based on the fact that, like so few films, they believably have a wonderful time together. They seem to bring out the best in each other, and exhibit the same sort of giddy, immature euphoria that I associate with real people who are in love in the real world. This movie is about three things: Not only their feelings for each other, but a larger examination of how we change with the passing years and finally how our perspective on love changes as well. Random sex soon begets hilarious road trips, then serious dinner conversations, parties and, after the buzz of something new fades, the quiet admissions of real feelings. Youth is a fun time of discovery and adventure. I still remember the day, much like Oliver in “A Lot Like Love,” when I realized that happiness is not a perpetual state of mind – that my happiness is only thanks to a select few people. And as both Oliver and Emily get older, they start taking each other for granted less and less. While the ending is a bit more uncertain than we’re used to from films of this ilk, it still goes too far in trying to build up the suspense this film really doesn’t need. But prior to this flaw, the film has paid its dues in making us care about these characters and creating a world that feels, dare I say, somewhat honest. Much criticized by me and others, this is the best defense yet of Ashton Kutcher’s acting abilities, as he must navigate between scenes of calm, insanity, giddiness and pain. Amanda Peet continues quite an impressive 2005 streak. Also starring in Woody Allen’s “Melinda and Melinda,” where she was without question the most skillful performer and the only reason for attending, she proves in both films that her vast acting range is her biggest asset. One cannot discuss this film without also confronting its genre, for that is precisely why “A Lot Like Love” is such a welcome production. Most romances are about two to five people, an arbitrary conflict, and then a predictable resolution. “Love,” to the contrary, is only about two unique people, who change and grow over the years, gradually discovering a new perspective. Their conflict is not melodrama but time, and their resolution is not a quick fix but a personal reinvention. No, this is not like most movie romances. But for my money, it’s a lot like this thing called reality.
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| DAVID JOHNSON'S REVIEW Romantic comedies are the celluloidal equivalent of masturbation. Like masturbation they have no development and just kinda happen randomly and like masturbation the film is so focused on its goal, nothing can stand in its way. Incompatable characters, bizzarely random scenarios and even space time itself cannot keep two lovers meant for each other from reaching happiness.“A Lot Like Love” has all the elements of a romantic comedy. There are two somewhat mismatched lovers (Oliver and Emily) who have a brief sexual encounter (in the airplane bathroom) and they then spend an afternoon walking and talking in a much shallower version of “Before Sunset.” Then of course, time passes and each of them takes turns having a failed relationship with another person and falling back on each other for comfort. Then finally they express their feelings for each other physically – well again I suppose. In this case in a station wagon parked alongside the highway in the desert. But of course, there has to be another tease. We can’t prematurely get to the ultimate goal without playing around a little. Oliver has to go run a soon to be failed internet company and try and live out his dreams. In the end of course, his life is a failure and he falls back on this woman that he hasn’t had more than a 30 minute substantive conversation with because she seems to like him. A cynical viewer watches this film and sees time after time of missed opportunity. Both Emily and Oliver fall on each other only when they are at their lowest. It seems that every encounter is motivated almost entirely by their loneliness and lack of any other options. Even their eventual ‘happily ever after’ moment is one of desperation. When Oliver’s internet company fails and he moves back in with his parents, he decides to call upon Emily. And Emily only finally decides to seek out Oliver after she has second thoughts about her impending marriage. It’s a match made in heaven by a random and indifferent god. Yet, “A Lot Like Love” simply ignores these obvious flaws and keeps proceeding forward with the story, blind to the fact that there is nothing to between these two. I’m sure the audience simply followed along, so desperate to reach the inevitable togetherness. Maybe there’s something to be said for that. The romance in “A Lot Like Love” is so carefully proportioned out, you have to at least respect the film makers awareness of his genre. And director Nigel Cole has some success. Although he shifts into the scene extremely awkwardly, a scene with Oliver and Emily kissing naked on a rock in the desert while she takes their picture is an amazingly romantic scene. All one has to do is carefully insert their own emotions and they can share in the experience. In the end though, it would probably be a lot more entertaining to just stay at home think of romantic situations and well…it won’t cost you $8.25 and you can’t do it at the theatre.  |
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