Each spring, movie theaters are flooded with flicks about weddings. Something Borrowed, a story of unrequited love and back-stabbing best buds, is text book. Like Water for Elephants, it's based on a novel of the same title (which, also like Water for Elephants, I didn't read). But before I even begin to talk about the plot I feel the need to say this: It was icky.
I've never been a fan of the home wrecker romance. Most of us have shoulda woulda coulda moments, but trying to rewrite them doesn't make destroying other people's lives okay. And Something Borrowed is about just that. The main character is Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), a lawyer and your typical buttoned-up, hard-working good girl. Her best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson [can't help but think of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy every time I hear that name]), is your typical self-absorbed, manipulative party girl. Darcy is engaged to Rachel's law school friend, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), aka Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome but Jerky. The problem? Rachel's always had a crush on Dex and still does.
You see where this is going, right?
Yes, Darcy is awful. Shallow and over-the-top, she's the embodiment of every high school mean girl all grown up. But I couldn't help but feel that she's painted that way so viewers don't feel guilty about rooting for Rachel. As for Dex, he masquerades as a sensitive guy who's just doing what his parents want. But he's really a coward who wants to have his cake and eat it too. Although put-upon, Rachel is only marginally sympathetic as the other woman. Not only does she poach her best friend's fiancé, but she allows herself to be treated badly, fulfilling the tired old mistress cliché.
From this mess, only Rachel and Darcy's childhood friend Ethan (the ever-affable John Krasinski) emerges as likable and funny, offering up witty observations from the sidelines during the crew's seemingly endless Hamptons weekends. Sure, he spends most of the movie dodging a woman he slept with and then dumped. But next to Dex and their mutual sleazy slacker friend Marcus, he still manages to channel the nice guy vibe of his "Office" character, Jim. (Who says there's no such thing as type casting?)
At one point, I thought the plot was going to wrap up in a predictable but still feel-good-sort-of-way that would have saved things. (Good little blogger that I am, I won't spill any more, should you decide to see the movie despite this uncharitable review.) But it didn't. It ended in a crescendo of insultingly cheesy soap opera incidents and a finale that could be described as only -- you guessed it -- icky.
If I have such an aversion to cheating hearts, then why did I see this movie? Because it's a romantic comedy, and I feel compelled to see all romantic comedies, no matter how seemingly stupid.
Next stop, Bridesmaids. I know the fuchsia taffeta won't disappoint.
Showing posts with label Water for Elephants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Water for Elephants. Show all posts
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Movie Moment: Water for Elephants
When I bought my ticket for Water for Elephants, the clerk asked me if I'd read the book. "No," I answered, resisting the urge to insist, "But I am a reader. I'm like you! I usually do read the book before seeing the movie." Perhaps this somewhat dramatic internal reaction was brought on by my trip to Borders the day before. I'd seen a display of Water for Elephants paperbacks underneath a sign pushily urging potential buyers to "read the book, see the movie." (You may recall that I ignored this edict, opting instead to buy I Love Ken: My Life as the Ultimate Boyfriend.) The clerk went on to say that the book had been so wonderful that she hadn't wanted it to end, and that for once the movie did an excellent job of capturing it. I nodded, promising to read it, then shuffled toward the ticket taker.
So, the movie. Water for Elephants is a frame story. I don't know about you, but I love a good frame story. There's something about hearing a story told as a flashback that makes it more symbolic and poignant. Water for Elephants is no different. It begins with an elderly man trying to get into a circus at night in the rain long after the last show has ended. At first he seems a little senile, a little lost. But then he begins to talk about his days with the Benzini Brothers Circus back in the 1930s, morphing into a twenty-something version of himself (played by Robert Pattinson) as the plot unravels.
All of a sudden, he's Jacob, the son of good-hearted Polish immigrants on the verge of getting his veterinary degree from Cornell. But just as he's about to take his final exam, he finds out that his parents have been killed in a car accident. Shaken and alone, Jacob sets off on foot with the vague notion of heading toward Albany to find work. Instead he hops aboard a train full of rough-hewn men who threaten to toss him onto the tracks. But just as it looks like the end, a white-haired gent takes pity on him (as always seems to be the case in such stories). He tells Jacob that he's joined a traveling circus and promises to get him a job (which turns out to be shoveling manure). But it isn't until Jacob catches sight of the beautiful Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the circus owner's wife, that his fate is truly sealed. Although initially distant, Marlena thaws when Jacob tries to help her ailing horse, Silver. Their newfound friendship is only strengthened when Marlena's cruel husband, August (Christoph Waltz), refuses to have Silver put down as Jacob recommended, insisting that he can get a few more shows out of him. Unable to see any creature in pain, Jacob disobeys August. At first, August is hostile, even murderous. But he quickly brings Jacob back into the fold when the loss of the horse nets him his next star attraction, a curious elephant named Rosie. The incident marks the beginning of a complicated relationship between Jacob, Marlena, and August, the kind that will (forgive the cliché) leave all three changed forever.
In some ways, this story was what I expected and wanted. It made me cry, which is always the hallmark of a tale well told. Still, I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing, some intangible element that I suspected could be felt only when reading the book. Then again, if the good stuff was more powerful in print, then it followed that the bad stuff would be, too. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to delve more deeply into the gritty themes of violence and animal cruelty that were so central to the story. Like many people, I've always found the circus to be more macabre than cheerful. Water for Elephants draws upon this darkness to reveal the more unseemly, animalistic sides of human relationships. Undeniably unsettling, it delivers more than mere entertainment but demands more than your attention in return.
So, the movie. Water for Elephants is a frame story. I don't know about you, but I love a good frame story. There's something about hearing a story told as a flashback that makes it more symbolic and poignant. Water for Elephants is no different. It begins with an elderly man trying to get into a circus at night in the rain long after the last show has ended. At first he seems a little senile, a little lost. But then he begins to talk about his days with the Benzini Brothers Circus back in the 1930s, morphing into a twenty-something version of himself (played by Robert Pattinson) as the plot unravels.
All of a sudden, he's Jacob, the son of good-hearted Polish immigrants on the verge of getting his veterinary degree from Cornell. But just as he's about to take his final exam, he finds out that his parents have been killed in a car accident. Shaken and alone, Jacob sets off on foot with the vague notion of heading toward Albany to find work. Instead he hops aboard a train full of rough-hewn men who threaten to toss him onto the tracks. But just as it looks like the end, a white-haired gent takes pity on him (as always seems to be the case in such stories). He tells Jacob that he's joined a traveling circus and promises to get him a job (which turns out to be shoveling manure). But it isn't until Jacob catches sight of the beautiful Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), the circus owner's wife, that his fate is truly sealed. Although initially distant, Marlena thaws when Jacob tries to help her ailing horse, Silver. Their newfound friendship is only strengthened when Marlena's cruel husband, August (Christoph Waltz), refuses to have Silver put down as Jacob recommended, insisting that he can get a few more shows out of him. Unable to see any creature in pain, Jacob disobeys August. At first, August is hostile, even murderous. But he quickly brings Jacob back into the fold when the loss of the horse nets him his next star attraction, a curious elephant named Rosie. The incident marks the beginning of a complicated relationship between Jacob, Marlena, and August, the kind that will (forgive the cliché) leave all three changed forever.
In some ways, this story was what I expected and wanted. It made me cry, which is always the hallmark of a tale well told. Still, I couldn't help but feel that there was something missing, some intangible element that I suspected could be felt only when reading the book. Then again, if the good stuff was more powerful in print, then it followed that the bad stuff would be, too. And I wasn't sure that I wanted to delve more deeply into the gritty themes of violence and animal cruelty that were so central to the story. Like many people, I've always found the circus to be more macabre than cheerful. Water for Elephants draws upon this darkness to reveal the more unseemly, animalistic sides of human relationships. Undeniably unsettling, it delivers more than mere entertainment but demands more than your attention in return.
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