If the movies teach us anything about real life, it is that all heterosexual relationships begin with one person lying to the other one. Indeed, I am starting to suspect that choosing the right lie may be even more important than choosing the right partner. The formula doesn’t work if you come clean on your own, so you want to pick a lie that is certain to be revealed by a third party-- preferably someone with a vested interest in splitting you up. You’ll also need some physical evidence that can’t be explained away as a simple misunderstanding. And of course, it must be a lie that is big enough to utterly destroy all trust that you’ve built between each other, yet small enough that it can be overcome with a single gesture.
In fairness, Zac Efron has more than just a good lie going for him to help him win over Taylor Schilling. He is also a former marine who knows how to walk back and forth in front of her window with his dog, and readily admits that he “can’t remember the last time he had a plan.” If that’s not enough of a catch for you, he’s also working the intergenerational angle with grandma (Blythe Danner) cheering them on and a kid that he can buddy up to when the girl isn’t biting (something that is never cool in real life). Still, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought that the whole movie was just an excuse to look at Mr. Efron without his shirt on.
Which is absolutely fine for the movies. I just hope that in real life all the women out there realize that we’re in the twenty-first century, and you no longer have to wait around for a guy to start lying to you. You can take charge and start lying to them first!
Oscar Chances:
Not gonna happen. Maybe there was an original song somewhere that will get submitted, but it won’t go anywhere in the nomination process.
My Lamb Score: 2 1/2 out of 5 Lambs
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Not sure why you bothered with this one. Still waiting for Avengers.
ReplyDeleteSorry to disappoint! I'm working on the Avengers one and will try to have it up soon. My darn day job is getting in the way of my blogging!
DeleteThis one just blew so much and it's no different from any other Nicholas Sparks adaptation that's come out in the past decade. Except for The Notebook, that one was actually entertaining. Good review.
ReplyDeleteI liked The Notebook much more than you did, but agree that this one wasn't quite where I had hoped it would be.
DeleteGreat review! I usually watch romance movies only if they are praised or have someone I consider hot in them, so I will skip this one :)
ReplyDeleteI hear you Sati. Unless they have a really great script, the whole point of the genre to have a moment of fantasy about someone you'd wish you have a romance with. So if the stars aren't your type, it kind of defeats the purpose!
DeleteReading your review is enough to tell me that I need not give this the time of day. Not that it was even on my radar. Still, made for an amusing review! Definitely a skip.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaina. I tend to go "meta" when there's nothing particularly compelling about the film. It's sort of my way of asking: Why are these still being made.
DeleteDo you usually create exclusively for this domain or you do that for other online or offline networks?
ReplyDeleteJust the website for me.
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