A hackneyed slacker scenario reduces this film from an entertainment marathon to a plot treading water. The feel-good message comes around, but there is too much packaging for the product.
David Schwimmer got the break of a lifetime in 1994. He was included in the cast of the TV sitcom “Friends" which went on to smash record profit ratings and become an icon for teenagers and 20- and 30-somethings of the time. As Dr. Ross Geller he played in some 238 episodes until the series shut down in 2004, presumably leaving him a multi-multi-millionaire. He was always the nicest guy in the skit, funny, modest and clean cut.
A couple years ago he got a bad break. He read the script for this rat-dog film and declared, “…this was the first one which made me laugh out loud all the way through….” Having directed ten "Friends" episodes for TV he thought he was ready to direct for the silver screen. He was wrong.
In the best of all possible worlds, he will learn from this stinker and go on to do great things. But don’t feel like you, the filmgoer, have to pay his way.
Consider the scene where Dennis (Simon Pegg---“Shawn of the Dead,” “Hot Fuzz”) sits up in a tree with his five year-old son Jake (Matthew Fenton) and they make farting noises together. Or the scene with the giant blister. These scenes are not funny; they are so trite, hackneyed and insipid that filmgoers in the audience will blush with embarrassment for the performers involved. Viewers will feel sorry for the poor schmucks that had a hand in this film.
The overall plot is a rough parallel to the Robin Williams classic, “Mrs. Doubtfire,” in which Williams pulls an outrageous ruse to win successful professional ex-wife Sally Fields back from the interloper, sophisticated architect Pierce Brosnan. In this film, Simon Pegg is the fool who runs away on his wedding day. He runs away from his true love.
His true love is Libby, played by Thandie Newton. Ms. Newton snared a BAFTA as well as other major awards for her work in “Crash.” She can act, when she has to. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have to act in this flick in her formulaic role as the stunningly beautiful and eminently desirable woman who has fallen in love with a man who is inexplicably, imponderably dumb.
On the rebound, Libby takes up with hedge fund manager Whit (Hank Azaria) who is rich and will offer her everything any woman could possibly want, except a good performance in this film. But it’s not his fault; the script is lousy and so is the directing. Whit is completely one dimensional.
When Brosnan played the part in “Doubtfire”, he was able to be coldly silent and “act” the part of the man who had everything and didn’t have to impress anyone. The powers-that-be on this set apparently felt Azaria couldn’t pull it off and so they made him talk too much. His character is preoccupied with explaining to the audience why he is really a loser in disguise. As a result, we are watching loser-vs-loser and, eventually, realizing that we are the losers for buying tickets in the first place.
Pegg is good, and he has better films ahead of him than this film, “Shawn of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz” put together. But he has to stop writing his own scripts. He has to get quality material.
Funny character actors Dylan Moran, Harish Patel, Simon Day and others almost steal the show, but they are not given enough screen time. By the end of the film, their throw-away gags have the audience yearning to see more of them and less of Pegg, Newton and Azaria.
Having said all that, the ending is cute. It is a typical room-com ending and everybody lives happily ever after. This makes this film a semi-acceptable first date movie for teens (if your date doesn’t ask too much) and an acceptable alternative to the violence and sex-filled junk that populates the theatres today. Very upbeat soundtrack and safe enough viewing for the whole family.
Release: March 28, 2008
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