Socal Stuff

Quick Film Notes: 27 Dresses

I was sheepish about suggesting this fluffy chick flick for this week's meeting of our Mom's Movie Club. After all, the last few films we saw were serious Oscar contenders -- so serious, that we were all in agreement that this time, we wanted something light for a change.

But I haven't seen a decent romantic comedy since Love, Actually and have been wondering if filmmakers have lost their ability to create charming love stories. And sure enough, the reviews of 27 Dresses have been so mediocre, that I was certain it wouldn't be worth our time.

This time, the critics are wrong. Sure, the film is formulaic -- it's a Romantic Comedy, so it follows the timeworn formula of Boy Meets Girl, Boy Loses Girl, Boy Gets Girl. That's the whole point. The question is, how do the filmmakers execute the formula? And the truth is, in 27 Dresses, they've done it very well, beginning with the opening scenes, where we are introduced to Jane (Katherine Heigl), a woman who loves weddings so much that she agrees to be a bridesmaid 27 times (hence all those frilly dresses hanging in her closet)... but she's so shy and afraid of a relationship that she's never revealed her true feelings for the man she's secretly loved for years.

That's an absurd proposition, and the filmmakers are smart enough to know we know that -- but they give her a backstory that makes it almost believable. The only part I can't wrap myself around is the notion that a knockout like Heigl would go unnoticed by her clueless boss (Ed Burns). Then again, since no one makes movies like this with unattractive people, it goes without saying that this genre requires a certain amount of suspension of disbelief.

It's also hard to understand how Jane can't seem to notice how attractive James Marsden is as Kevin Doyle, the Boy who meets her, loses her and gets her in the end. As it is, I'm trying to figure out how I never noticed him until this year, as Corny Collins in Hairspray and the Prince in Enchanted. With his first real star turn in this film, I don't think anyone will fail to notice him again. He is perfect as a cynical reporter who is stuck writing romantic dreck for his paper's "Commitments" page, and his scenes with Heigl sizzle with true chemistry. (He even gets to demonstrate some of those singing chops he exhibited in his last two movies.)

Forget the professional critics. If you, like me, have been starved for a good rom-com, this is the movie you've been waiting for.

Quick Film Notes - Atonement

It has taken me over a week to write this short review of "Atonement." It's not because I didn't like the movie. On the contrary: The film boasts two beautiful, charismatic leads in Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, a terrific Christopher Hamptom script (based on the Ian McEwan novel), Joe Wright's smart direction, lush locations in England, gorgeous costumes, and a plot that encompasses romance, war, sex and lies. What's not to like?

The story begins in 1935 and is narrated by Briony Tallis (Saiorse Ronan), the imaginative youngest child of a wealthy English family. One day, Briony looks out her bedroom window and witnesses a confrontation between her glamorous older sister (Knightley) and the handsome son of the family housekeeper (McAvoy). We see the incident through Briony's eyes and understand what she's thinking. We then see it again as it actually occurred, and discover that the child got it all wrong. Unfortunately, the plot that is set in motion moves in a direction that can end only in heartbreak.

Knightley's classic beauty makes her perfect for this kind of period drama. Dressed in the styles of the 30's and wartime 1940, she looks like an Erte painting come to life. She and McAvoy make an enormously attractive couple, and you root for them to be together.

But it is the supporting players who really impress. Young Saiorse Ronan is a revelation as 13-year-old Briony. This is the kind of performance that impresses Academy voters, and she very well could become one of the rare child nominees for Best Supporting Actress. If so, she very well could be competing for that honor with Vanessa Redgrave, who plays the same character as an old woman. Redgrave is on screen for under seven minutes -- but her scenes bring the story to its tragic -- yet satisfying -- conclusion.

The problem with "Atonement" is that the movie is so relentlessly sad. I had done my research going in, I pretty much knew how it would end. That's not the same as seeing it unfold, becoming involved with the characters, getting seduced by the winning performances, and seeing Vanessa Redgrave's heartbreaking turn as the grown-up Briony. When it was over, I felt like I'd been hit in the gut. I wanted to cry. I wanted to drink. And the ending haunted me for the next couple of days.