No.327 : When We First Met (2018)

 

When We First Met at the IMDb

Watching this film you may get the feeling that it’s Groundhog Day, not because it's is a funny and well crafted piece of original entertainment, but because it rehashes large portions of the Bill Murray classic. That’s not to say it just rips off ‘Groundhog day’ - it also rips off ‘Big’ and ‘Back to the Future’ too.

Still these films are all 30+ years old so let’s see if this modern take adds anything to the overly familiar genre. Adam Devine, who you’ll know from the ‘Pitch Perfect’ films as well as ‘Why Him?’ stars as Noah, a jazz bar pianist, who is attending the engagement party of Avery and Ethan. He remembers that three years ago he met Avery at a Halloween party and fell for her. He wasn’t able to seal the deal however, and the next day Avery met Ethan and his chance was lost.

He gets drunk and gets a ride home from Avery’s photographer flatmate, Carrie. The pair stop off at Noah’s jazz bar and he forlornly wishes in the antique photo booth that he had the chance to do things differently. Happily the photo booth seems to have been made by the same people who made Tom Hanks’ ‘Zoltar’ machine and Noah wakes up three years earlier on the day of the fateful Halloween party.

He spends a lot of time coming to terms with his situation but eventually chooses a different costume and approach towards Avery to get out of the friend zone and into the loving relationship he thinks is his destiny. As you will probably guess things don’t go to plan and after the party he wakes up in a now changed present to see where he is and what kind of relationship he has with the elusive Avery. As the present days flounder he retreats back to the photo booth to try again...and again.

Sometimes he’s rich and discontented - others see him branded a stalker, or with Avery but with her not loving him. Will his repeated trips back in forth in time lead to the problem being fixed or does his true route to happiness lie in a different direction?

This Netflix film was OK as a Sunday afternoon distraction but it offered nothing new and the outcome was no real surprise. The whole film was essentially that scene in ‘Groundhog Day’ where Bill Murray tries to fast forward his romance plans by remembering lots of details about Andie Macdowell’s life and creeping her out. No self respecting film will ever let the hero profit with such knowledge and, as ever, they demand that their character learn, grow and accept some truths before he can move on.

Of course there was no reason given for the magic in play and that’s fair enough, but acceptance came easy to Noah and at no point did he try to but Facebook shares or bet Leicester to win the league. Still, it said fantasy on the tin and that’s what you get.

I liked that they didn’t make the love rival an asshole, with Noah coming off the worst due to his manipulative machinations. The same scenes played out several times and it would have been good to have seen them from different perspectives, as it did come across as a bit dull and lazy.

There were no laughs or surprises, but the young and good looking cast seemed to be having fun and, if you don’t demand too much, you may get a slice for yourself.

Best Bit : Oh I’m Fat Now  ‘W’ Rating 14/23

No.205 : Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! (2004)

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton! at the IMDb

There aren’t enough films with exclamation marks in their titles - off hand I can only thing of ‘Sink the Bismarck!’ and the crappy Michael Winner comedy ‘Bullseye!’. Any more out there?

The exclamation mark here is a bit misleading as there is no real excitement or urgency in this forgettable romantic comedy.

The titular Tad is a Hollywood leading man with image problems. His running about with starlets is alienating his audience and his agent., Nathan Lane, decides that a charity date competition is the best way to get him back on track. Meanwhile the staff at a small town grocery store are gushing over how lovely Tad is. The manager, Topher Grace, is keen on one of the check out girls but is too shy to make a move. The object of Topher’s affections, Kate Bosworth, is unaware of her admirer despite everyone else knowing they are a good match.

Kate enters the Tad contest and, of course, she wins. She’s jetted off to LA with Topher telling her to save her ‘carnal gift’. The date goes well and, although there is no foo-foo, Tad is clearly taken with the small town girl. Later back at the store Topher is readying his move when Tad shows up - he’s only smitten and has decided to up sticks and move to the West Virginia backwater and pursue the lovely lass.

What follows is a predictable game as the two men try to woo the lovely Kate with slight dirty tricks employed but there is no nastiness and the outcome is never in doubt.

This is a hard film to really dislike as a group of attractive people have fun in the sun. It’s just not very substantial with the paper thin characters bumbling towards an inevitable climax. There is no threat or danger with Tad being underwritten and ill defined in his motivations. He seems a decent bloke but there are suggestions he’s a bit sneaky - like him stealing Topher’s tiresome ‘six smiles’ routine - but overall you have no idea if he’s good or bad. Josh Duhamel is fine as Tad to begin with, but once he decants to the small town he loses credibility - smiler Kate or all those hookers and drugs? Come on!

We are expected to root for Topher’s wishy washy store manager but he’s such a wimp that you don’t really care. He does have some good scenes with the slutty bar tender played by Kathryn Hahn, who seems a far better choice than the bland and harmless Kate Bosworth whom everyone else is falling over themselves for.

The cast was filled out with the always great but underused Gary Cole and Nathan Lane as the excitable agent.

Overall you’ll do a lot worse but there is not a lot to recommend this predictable slice of fluff.

THE Tag Line : Six Smiles Out of Ten 14/23

No.89 : Waitress (2007)

Waitress at the IMDb


Waitress Jenna loves to bake pies. She bakes for her workplace, Old Joe’s, she bakes for her friends and she bakes at home to forget her miserable life. She is married to the boorish Earl who honks his horn a lot and keeps his wife under his thumb. As the film opens Jenna learns that she’s pregnant as the result of a night of lovin’ with Earl that came after he got her drunk. The news is a disaster as she’d been saving to get away from Earl and to compete in the National Pie Baking Championships.

She unhappily resolves to keep the baby and checks in to her doctor for the usual tests. She is surprised however to learn that her aged lady doctor has retired and been replaced by the nice Dr Jim who gladly accepts her offer of a pie. As the pregnancy progresses the two become lovers despite both having complex home lives. Romance is also blossoming at the diner where Jenna’s two waitress buddies both have relationship issues of their own.

Things come to a head when Earl finds Jenna’s stash of cash and starts to knock her about. She confides in Old Joe himself, but knows that if she’s ever going to be happy that she’ll have to make things happen for herself. As her waters break she has to sort out her relationships, have the baby and answer her fan mail from the now ailing Old Joe.

I really enjoyed this film which will forever be tinged by sadness, owing to the murder of writer/director Adrienne Shelly shortly after its completion. Kerri Russell is great in the lead as the downtrodden but spirited Jenna. We get a window into her thoughts through a narration device of her writing a diary for her baby to be and this helps fill out her conflicted character. Although she is hostile to the idea of becoming a mother we know it’s a front and that standing up to Earl is the only route to happiness. Earl is a horrible character, although maybe not as menacing as intended. He’s played by Jeremy Sisto, who played the mental one on ‘Six Feet Under’, and he does well to deviate between pathetic and bullying an a single stride.

The love lives of Jenna’s waitress buddies are really just footnotes but fun all the same. I just hope Larry David knows what his wife is getting up to! Andy Griffith shows up as the wise old restaurant owner and although seen as initially cantankerous we know he’s a good old guy. Filling the cast is Nathan Fillion out of ‘Firefly’ and he’s good value as the sexed up doc. He’s pretty unethical from the start and his motivations aren’t clear given his lovely wife at home, but I guess the point of the matter is that we can’t choose who we fall in love with and when.

The film is really well made with lots of shots of sumptuous pies to keep us fat guys interested. The characters are all well written and although the ending is a bit of the fairytale variety we don’t grudge any of them their happiness. A genuinely uplifting feel good movie that won me over despite its overwhelming theme of chick wish fulfilment. You go girl!

Best Bit : Pies!

‘W’ Rating 20/23

No.60 : When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

 When Harry Met Sally at the IMDb

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan star in this ‘he said, she said’ romantic comedy that remains the definitive title in that threadbare genre.

The film opens in 1977 with Billy and Meg sharing an 18 hour car journey across America. The trip is one of convenience as both have other partners but their relationship sparks from the off. Although Billy’s sexist and Meg’s compulsive personalities clash we the viewer know that they are a good match, even if they don’t.

The pair meet again five years later in an airport and again get along well, albeit in the form of an argument. A further five years down the line sees the couple both single and in New York and a friendship tentatively develops. Although Billy states he can’t have a woman as a friend as he’s always thinking about sleeping with her, he manages to convince himself that it’ll be different with Meg.

His pal Bruno Kirby and hers Princess Leia try to set up the pair with other people, but the tables are turned when the friends get engaged leaving Billy and Meg alone with each other. When Meg gets dumped and calls Billy for comfort the pair have sex, affecting the relationship to the point of destruction. As their friends’ wedding approaches, Billy and Meg reappraise what they mean to each other and despite some reluctance to go for it love will probably conquer all.




Although it’s a bit soppy and sentimental I quite like this film. It’s appeal is mostly down to the two leads who make a good pair and the crackling dialogue that riffs along at fantastic pace. I also like the episodic nature that jumps across time using real anecdotes of couples meeting spoken by them on a couch as bumpers. There is a nice if predictable treat in this towards the end.




The ‘will they won’t they’ dilemma was a bit overblown, especially as the answer is given away in the film’s poster. The picture obviously did well as it speaks to people about their relationships in a true and identifiable way. No doubt endless streams of couples left the cinema saying ‘that bit was just like you’. The main argument about men wanting to sleep with women rather than have them as friends was pretty obvious but I’m sure enough women would be surprised to keep it in as an educational point. The film pans out pretty much the way Billy Crystal said it would at the start, so Q.E.D. there. At least they had fun getting us there!

The famous deli demonstration still raises a smile but I preferred the Billy and Bruno scenes where they debate their own love lives at the football game or batting cages. The script by Nora Ephron was very snappy and wise and she must have had a bloke giving input - bloody traitor!

Best Bit : Billy fakes regret at shagging Meg Ryan
‘W’ Score 18/23