The Rebound

This gentle and sweet romantic comedy is a change for the bird-shooting, Vegas-storming Justin Bartha but sees Catherine Zeta Jones back on form.

The story
Recent divorcee, Sandy, and her two children move from the suburbs into New York city for a fresh start. Struggling with her new role as working single mum, she hires the quiet but cute Arum from the coffee shop below her apartment to help her out. Aram, at 25, has just been dumped by his French wife and agrees to take the job as nanny as a distraction from his situation.

However, the more time he spends with Sandy and her family, the more he enjoys his new role. And as his relationship with Sandy develops he becomes much more than the nanny.  As they grow closer, Arum and Sandy must discover if they really are meant to be together or if they are just each other’s rebounds.

Touching, gentle and sweet. Not a must-see but definitely recommended.

The high(s)
Catherine Zeta Jones looking great; Arum’s mother, played by Joanna Gleason; the previews for some new chick flicks out soon including ‘Eat, Love, Pray’, ‘Life As We Know It’ and ‘Going the Distance’.

The low(s)
The reminder that I’m getting older as the actresses I’ve grown up with (Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Zeta Jones etc) are increasingly cast as mothers or ‘older’ woman.

Watch it if you liked:
No Reservations, Raising Helen,

Not a patch on:
Heartbreakers – still the best film I’ve seen recently!

Leap Year – out now on DVD

After watching this weak and cliched film, I am thankful leap years only come round every four years.  The script was lazy, the characters cliched and the Irish accents very questionable.

 

The story
Successful real estate presenter, Anna Brady, has everything under control. She has a good job, a sought-after apartment and a wonderful boyfriend. As soon as he proposes, everything will be perfect. Only he doesn’t. So Anna takes matters into her own hands and follows him on a business trip to Ireland where she plans to propose to him on February 29th following the old Irish leap year tradition.

However, a series of weather, transport and cutural obstacles get in the way of Anna and her proposal. To make it to Dublin in time Anna must rely on the handsome but rude Irish landlord, Declan.  

As they make their way, slowly, towards Dublin their journey becomes more meaningful that their destination.

The high(s)
Erm, the countryside?

The low(s)
The awful Irish stereotyping and weak script

Watch it if you liked:
Made of Honor, The Wedding Date

Not a patch on:
The Proposal, PS I Love You, Heartbreakers

Heartbreaker – L’arnacoeur

Loved it, loved it, loved it! 

It’s how rom-coms should be – funny, sweet and slick. And Vanessa Paradis is unbelievably cool (and beautiful).

The Story
Professional heartbreakers, Alex and his sister and brother in law, are in the business of breaking up unhappy and unsuitable couples. To save himself from a bad loan, Alex agrees to take on an assignment to break up a seemingly happy couple just days before their wedding. When the sassy and independent Juliette appears immune to Alex’s charm, he begins to regret taking on the job. But not as much as when he realises he has fallen for his target.

A really fresh and funny French film that will appeal to anyone with a heart and a sense of humour.

The High(s)
The Dirty Dancing scene, I won’t say any more but it’s hilarious. And, of course, Romain Duris.

The Low(s)
Very few, if any. It is slightly patronising towards women in relationships at the beginning but all is forgiven as soon as the story starts. The subtitles may put some people off.  

Watch it if you liked
Avoiding obvious comparisons to Amelie and Priceless, I would say it has similarities to the plot of Failure to Launch, the humour of Away We Go and the dark comedy of In Bruges.

Not a patch on
This film really is hard to top.

Letters to Juliet

If the script had been sent in a letter to Juliet she may well have thrown herself off that balcony.

Although the trailer was a pretty accurate taster of the film to come I was still disappointed. The film wasn’t even saved by the great Vanessa Redgrave.

The Story

Sophie imagines a pre-wedding holiday to Italy with her fiance will be filled with romantic strolls through the historic streets of Verona but is left disappointed when he spends all day meeting suppliers for his new Italian restaurant. Bored and lonely, Sophie wanders the streets with her guide book for company. On a visit to Juliet’s balcony, one of Verona’s most famous sites, she discovers crowds of women posting letters on the wall beneath the balcony.

Curious, Sophie watches the letter-writers until the end of the day when a young Italian women collects the letters from the wall.  Sophie follows the woman to a room above a small restaurant where she meets a group of volunteers calling themselves Juliet’s Secretaries. The Secretaries read and reply to all the letters offering all kinds of romantic advice.

When Sophie returns the next day to help the women collect and reply to the letters, she discovers a letter hidden in the wall from 50 years ago. Moved by the contents of the letter, she decides to reply not knowing if Claire, the author, will ever receive her reply. 

A week later she is stunned to meet Claire who, after reading Sophie’s reply, has travelled to Verona to find Lorenzo, her lost love from half a century ago. Sophie joins Claire and her (disapproving) grandson Charlie, on their quest to find Lorenzo which takes them through the beautiful Tuscan countryside with not too surprising results.

The High(s)
The beautiful Tuscan hills and vineyards.

The Low(s)
The cliched English characters (with an awful accent from the Australian Christopher Egan) and the questionable soundtrack. 

Watch it if you like:
Under the Tuscan Sun, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, A Good Year

Not a patch on:
Mamma Mia, Casablanca, Before Sunrise

 

Marley and Me

Watched this again last night and it was as good as I remember.  Warning: bring tissues.

The story
Boy meets girl. Boy and girl marry. Boy and girl buy dog. Dog goes mental…

John and Jenny Grogan are newly-weds who move to Florida to start a life together in sunnier climes. John is a reporter, Jenny is a feature writer. With successful careers in place, Jenny starts to hint that children are the natural next step for them. In an attempt to delay fatherhood, John buys Jenny a labrador puppy – Marley.

What starts as a cute, cuddly puppy becomes a canine force of destruction annihilating everything that gets in his way. But as the Grogan family grows so does Marley’s loyalty and life without him becomes unimaginable.

The high(s)
Really cute puppy, Jennifer Aniston as a very convincing mother and lots of funny dog-eats-answerphone/furniture/expensive jewellery scenes.

The low(s)
Probably has more impact if you’ve had a family dog.

Worth seeing if you liked:
ET, As Good as it Gets, The Object of My Affection

Not a patch on:
Actually there aren’t many films to compare this one to.

Do chicks flicks betray our feminist foremothers?

There has been a lot in the press recently about modern feminism:

‘I’m not a feminist, but…’ (Red magazine, July 10 issue)

‘New feminism has started the fight-back at last’, (Evening Standard, 7 Jun 10)
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23841968-new-feminism-has-started-the-fight-back-at-last.do

‘Are you a secret feminist?’, (Stylist, 9 June 2010)
http://issue.stylist.co.uk/Stylist-style-fashion-beauty-news/1A4c0d0aa146bfd012.cde

Most articles seem to be asking why we are so reluctant to call ourselves feminists despite believing in fundamental feminist principles. And why we are shying away from a movement that gave us the freedom, flexibility and independence most of us enjoy today.

My question is not about what we call feminism today but can we even say we believe in the principles when we flock to see films that Kevin Maher from the Times describes as “the worst kind of regressive pre-feminist stereotype and misogynistic clichés”?

In other words, is it possible to be a feminist and an avid chick flick fan? Or are the conventions that define the chick flick genre inherently anti-feminist?

Of course there are strong, independent female characters we love to love, but for every Elle Woods, Samantha Jones and Holly Golightly there are also the ditzy, shopping-obsessed Rebecca Bloomwoods. So, which of our favourite chick flicks are guilty of reinforcing these ”pre-feminist stereotypes”? And are there enough that don’t to redeem the genre?

Guilty…

No Reservations, The Proposal, The Wedding Planner
Guilty of undermining career success by implying the female leads are only successful because they are single and so throw themselves into work.

The Ugly Truth, She’s all That, Grease
Guilty of suggesting that only when female characters change their personality or physical appearance do they become attractive.

Picture Perfect, The Wedding Date, Because I Said So
Guilty of reinforcing the unhappily single stereotype.

Confessions of a Shopaholic, 27 Dresses, Bride Wars
Guilty of reinforcing the shallow, shopping or wedding-obsessed stereotype.

And not guilty…

For their strong female characters, strong female storylines and general sisterhood thing:
- Juno
- 10 things I Hate About You
- 500 Days of Summer
- Thelma and Louise
- Whip It
- It’s Complicated
- Charlie’s Angels
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Steel Magnolias
- Amelie
- Heartbreakers
- Beaches

Well, with no conclusive evidence that they are a step backwards for feminism,  I’m happy to carry on believing chick flicks are just fun escapism. And, anyway, maybe modern feminism is actually about choosing to watch Patrick Swayze in high definition on a TV we paid for, in a house we own, as a way of relaxing after a busy day at work?

The eagle has landed…

The long-awaited sequel is here.

It’s opening night, we’re in a packed screen 10 surrounded by maxi dresses and stacked wedges. The audience is high on pic’n'mix and rose and the air is thick with anticipation. 

Then, suddenly, Alicia Keys silences the excited chatter and Carrie bursts through the doors of her Manhattan apartment block and onto the 30 foot screen infront of us. After days, weeks, months of waiting the girls are back!

So, how are they?

The story
Carrie and Big are still together and awaiting the release of her new book; Charlotte is still enjoying family life, elbow-deep in pink cupcake icing with two beautiful children in tow; Miranda is still juggling career, children and commuting; and Samantha is still…well Samantha.

But all is not as it seems.

I won’t give away any of the plot but I will say Sex and the City 2 has something for everyone. Even, unfortunately, its biggest critics.

Parts of the film were reassuringly familiar (even if familiarity comes in the form of bizarre headwear and labia jokes) but it wasn’t quite SATC as we know it. It was missing the sharp script from the TV series and the twists and drama of the first film. But overall it was still a good way to spend two hours.

The high(s)
The great 1980′s flashbacks, Liza Minnelli’s performance and Big (for once the good guy).

The low(s)
The Carry-On style escape from Abu Dhabi, the poor casting of the lovely Raza Jeffrey.

Watch it if you liked:
Well, Sex and the City. Loyal fans are more forgiving.

Not a patch on:
The Sex and the City of yesteryear.