One word to sum it up: *sighs* (I realize that's not a word, but...)
Author's note: The following was written in the last hour of a social studies exam on the back of a wordfind about fishes. Don't worry, I did do the exam (and the wordfind).
I am very proud to say that I have watched nearly every Amy Adams movie in existence, and plan to continue to watch all of her movies until she retires. Why? Because I fell in love with her in Enchanted, and no matter what she does, she always lights up the screen with her charming and bubbling nature. This is evident in her recent (and largely unknown) film Leap Year, where she and dashing co-star Matthew Goode practically give us a tour of Ireland.
A successful woman, Anna (Amy Adams) who has an elaborate scheme to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) on Leap Day, an Irish tradition which occurs every time the date February 29 rolls around, faces a major setback when bad weather threatens to derail her planned trip to Dublin. With the help of an innkeeper, Declan (Matthew Goode), however, her cross-country odyssey just might result in her getting engaged.
No, Leap Year isn't great, and it doesn't try to recreate the romance genre. However, from the very beginning, it doesn't set out to be a normal fluffed up romantic comedy, as it doesn't have pop music blaring out in the most inappropriate scenes and doesn't attempt to make the film glossy in any way. That may be a good thing, but without those factors the film feels kinda dull and mediocre, and puts a constant shadow of the films amiable funny parts. It comes out like a bit of a black and white photocopy of other romantic comedies, and did give me a serious case of deja vu. It's about as gooder film as Letters to Juliet, but has some certain merits which elevate it from generic rom-com material.
Amy Adams eliminates the dullness by charming her way into our hearts and making this film somewhat worth while. Though she isn't playing a totally flamboyant character a la Delysia Lafosse, she gives the material her best shot and wins us all over. Matthew Goode, too, completes the perfect couple we actually like to watch on screen. And he can actually act too, which is a little strange looking at past male rom-com figures. They save the film from it's flatness, and thank God they are there too. Leap Year is quite frankly really predictable, and is written by a person who probably hasn't ever seen a romatic comedy (because all of the cliches), but Amy Adams, Matthew Goode and a great supporting performance from Ireland's scenery makes it worth the 90 minutes. If you can handle it.
THE VERDICT: It's predictability, cliche ridden script and mediocre direction let it down, but Amy Adams and Matthew Goode don't.
I love Amy Adams, too! And although the film was cliche, it's a feel-good one for me.
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