Movie Review: Prime

By Joshua Tyler Oct 28, 2005, 14:58 GMT

Prime is a sophisticated, character comedy set in New York City about Rafi (Thurman), a recently divorced 37-year-old career woman from Manhattan, and what happens when Dave (Greenberg), a talented 23-year-old painter from Brooklyn, falls in love with her. Prime looks at love from everyone’s point of view—friends, relatives and in this case, Rafi’s therapist (Streep)—and follows all who come apart, and some who pull it together, when two people ...more

If there’s a point to Ben Younger’s pseudo-romantic pseudo-comedy Prime, I couldn’t find it. Meryl Streep is spectacular and Uma Thurman might be even better, but the movie goes nowhere and takes a ridiculously long time to get there.

It’s the story of a middle-aged divorcee named Rafi (Uma Thurman) dating a 23 year-old child named David (Brian Greeberg). Child is an appropriate word, because there’s nothing mature about this kid. He’s 23 going on 16, and Rafi’s insistence on constantly lauding his maturity only makes his immaturity more glaring. Rafi also thinks he’s really funny… because I think somewhere in the film he parroted someone else’s joke. Obviously, she’s inventing reasons to be with him, but the truth is he’s young, hot, and she’s enjoying being single. Of course the film never explores any of that. Instead, the script insists on talking endlessly about true love while Rafi pays David’s bills, and gives him a spot in her cushy pad. There are rules of course. For instance David can’t have over any friends. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she also forbids him from riding his bike past the end of the block.

As if the relationship between Rafi and the practically pre-pubescent David wasn’t creepy enough, Prime throws in another twist, presumably for comedic effect. Rafi’s therapist Lisa is David’s mother, only Rafi doesn’t know it. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Lisa how much she loves David’s penis. At least she said it was big.

Thurman does her best to pick up the slack left by Prime’ disinterested script, but she’s left running in place. Worst is the pivotal miscasting of the movie’s lead. Brian Greenberg is not a talent, he’s a big waste of space. So is the movie by the way, and it’s not worth sticking with it as it drags on and on, forgetting to laugh and struggling to find an inoffensive way to finish. It’s a go nowhere do nothing movie. Go somewhere, do something better than spending time with Prime.

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