| Overall Grade: |
B |
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| Story: |
C+ |
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| Acting: |
A- |
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| Direction: |
B- |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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Enjoyable but flawed
by Pamela (movies profile)
Oct 10, 2009
This is one of those movies so close to almost great that it was frustrating. For example, Geoffrey Rush as Harry seemed like such an odd casting choice, much as I like him ("Shine," "Shakespeare in Love"). Harry told Suzanne (Goldie Hawn) he grew up in Phoenix and moved to L.A.
Phoenix is a diverse metro area, but you'd be hard pressed to find a 50-year-old man who grew up in Phoenix with an Aussie accent. A simple sentence change such as, "I grew up in Australia and moved to Phoenix as a teenager" would have made Rush a perfect casting choice. This few-word addition to his script near the film's beginning could have set his lovely accent in context instead of sending him off-kilter as an unbelievable character. He recovered believability through great acting, but it was a stumbling block for the viewer.
There were major holes in the plot, again frustrating because they could have been fixed with a few simple sentences and no additional sets or actors. For example, Harry established himself as a secretive character and Suzanne the opposite: open, exuberant and outgoing. Harry's reason for going to Phoenix was later somewhat resolved in the film, but there was no resolution as to why Harry confessed so early in the relationship his reason for going to Phoenix. There was contention at that point. Perhaps there were hints of upcoming intimacy. Little as he knew Suzanne, Harry should have been afraid of Suzanne turning him in for arrest. That was not explained.
Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon put in outstanding performances as sexy, 50-something actresses.
Writer-producer Bob Dolman deserves kudos for his directorial debut with major actors, L.A. movie studios and real-street sets, props, cinematographers, designers and all the other behind-the-scenes people who make it all happen.
I also like the work of Karl Walter Lindenlaub (Director of Cinematography) and his team's restraint from, "Look at me, me, me, I have a fancy camera." Instead, he, director Dolman and their teams let the actors do their work. |
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