- In the spirit of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY comes A LOT LIKE LOVE, the romantic comedy about destiny and the possibilities of a chance encounter evolving into a close encounter of the happily-ever-after kind. Ashton Kutcher (GUESS WHO) and Amanda Peet (SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE) set off sparks as opposites who attract and have a one-flight stand from LA to New York. When the trip's over, they are t
GRIFFIN AND PHOENIX is a poignantly funny love story about two people who face a seemingly insurmountable obstacle that may stand between them and a last chance at love. Is it ever too late to have a last chance at love? The heartwarming answer of
Griffin & Phoenix is, thankfully, no. This sweet little film has a big heart, and carries itself with grace and class, despite its tough subject matter. And that's due largely to the moving performances by the two leads, and the deft direction of Ed Stone, ! who's never heavy-handed. Griffin (Dermot Mulroney) learns in the film's opening scene that he has inoperable cancer and not long to live. A workaholic, Griffin screeches in his tracks at the news, and at reconsidering the priorities he thought ruled his life. By chance he runs into Phoenix (Amanda Peet), a will o' the wisp free spirit who has hidden issues of her own. But sometimes chemistry has a mind of its own, and the two are drawn together in ways both warm and sad. (Have a hankie or two handy.) Despite the subject matter, the film never loses the ordinary absurdities of life. "You can't save my life," says a quiet Griffin to his doctor in the early scene. "Can you validate my parking?" It's this embrace of humor and pathos that makes
Griffin & Phoenix so memorable as a film--and as a mirror of life. --
A.T. HurleyIn the spirit of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY comes A LOT LIKE LOVE, the romantic comedy about destiny and the possibilities of a chance encounter e! volving into a close encounter of the happily-ever-after kind.! Ashton Kutcher (GUESS WHO) and Amanda Peet (SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE) set off sparks as opposites who attract and have a one-flight stand from LA to New York. When the trip's over, they are too -- and both move on but can't really let go. As they search for love that doesn't end in disaster, they keep finding each other. And while the chemistry that first brought them together keeps generating heat, the timing is always wrong. This funny and disarming story of modern romance will have you falling in love over and over again.The words "subtle" and "Ashton Kutcher" rarely appear in the same sentence, but here goes:
A Lot Like Love, a romantic comedy starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet, is surprisingly and pleasantly subtle. The story starts when Emily (Peet,
Igby Goes Down) and Oliver (Kutcher,
Dude, Where's My Car?) meet on a flight to New York and have a tryst in the airplane bathroom. After a day's dalliance, they part and don't meet again for four years--wh! en they meet, spend a day together, part, and don't meet again until...you begin to get the idea. The script could have been dangerously cute, but director Nigel Cole (who helmed the delightful
Calendar Girls) carefully steers Peet and Kutcher, two actors not generally noted for their grasp of character nuance, towards fairly three-dimensional portrayals of two floundering twentysomethings who can't seem to find the right moment. There are a few rom-com cliches--at one point, Oliver serenades Emily in front of an audience of her neighbors--but most of the movie is low-key, engaging, and smacks of actual human experience. Also featuring Kal Penn (
Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) and Kathryn Hahn (
Anchorman).
--Bret Fetzer
6:31 AM
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