| DOWN WITH LOVE |
 2003 - USADirector:
Peyton Reed - Reviewed by Vickie
Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger), meanwhile, is a plucky young author with a radical new idea—women should be equal to men... at work, at home and, most importantly, in the bedroom. Her new book, "Down With Love," aims to teach women to enjoy sex without the pesky entanglements that love and romance might bring. Toss these two characters together in a film that’s purposely reminiscent of the seemingly-chaste-but-covertly-bawdy sex comedies of the 1950s and ‘60s and you have the recipe for a technicolor romp loaded with double entendres, cheeky remarks and more retro charm than you can shake a day-glo swizzle stick at. The bulk of the movie centers on Catcher’s plan to debunk Barbara’s sex-over-love theory by posing as an aw-shucks astronaut named Zip Martin in order to romance her and make her succumb to the love that she declares women don’t need. Adding to the comic hijinks are Barbara’s feisty editor, Vikki (Sarah Paulson), and Catcher’s smitten-with-Vikki but generally befuddled boss, Peter (David Hyde Pierce). The quartet of colorful characters then engage in the time-honored cinematic tradition of films like this by swimming knee-deep in misunderstandings, misinformation and clever deception as a battle of the sexes is waged by all involved. More than anything else, Down With Love is gorgeous to look at and is enormous amounts of fun to listen to. The sets, costumes and overall art direction are brilliantly executed, and will no doubt snag an Oscar nod or two for creating the intentionally fake-looking but utterly stunning world inhabited by the story’s characters. The film’s lavish apartments, swank dinner clubs and opulent offices also provide the backdrop for some of the sharpest dialogue and wittiest banter to fall from actors’ lips in a long time. As a writer, I’m a sucker for a smart pun, wacky play on words or rapid-fire dialogue volleyed back and forth between talented players. And the players here are certainly talented. McGregor’s Catcher is sweetly irresistible and, despite his character’s womanizing, he wisely never crosses the line into smarmy and unlikable territory. It’s easy to see why women fall at his feet. Similarly, Zellweger scores as the woman-with-a-mission who finds herself stuck in a paradox of her own making. (A side note: watch her lengthy one-shot soliloqy near the end and tell me she didn’t nail it.) The supporting cast is just as good, and David Hyde Pierce turns in one of his best performances here as a man with an almost overwhelming nervous energy. I smiled all the way through Down With Love, marveled at its loveliness, enjoyed its sly humor and was totally sucked in by its entire enchanting package. I can easily say that it’s one of the few romantic comedies to live up to its hype, and will easily be one of the coolest flicks to hit screens this summer. |
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Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) is, as we’re reminded more than once
during this delightfully winning comedy, a ladies’ man, man’s man, man
about town. He’s a hotshot writer for KNOW magazine who jets around the
globe to get the scoop. He’s also a more-than-successful Casanova who’s
bedded a bevy of beauties and who’s rather proud of his ability to
literally charm the pants off of just about anybody.
