Christensen tried to kill this movie, but he couldn't.
This movie has several good things going for it: a top-notch performance from Kevin Kline, an engaging performance by Jena Malone, and a pretty good script. Having said that, I have to also say that this movie has one huge strike against it, which is the over-the-top, not-even-close-to-believable performance of Hayden Christensen. Throughout the movie, Young Skywalker...err...I mean, Christensen has only two moods that he demonstrates: disinterested, slacker punk or angry, screaming slacker punk. Neither one of those moods is something he does well. One could reasonably ask what, precisely, Mr. C does do well as an actor, but that is another issue.
Back to the good stuff. Kline turns in his normal, stellar performance. He is a top, Hollywood performer and his work always carries the ring of truth and honesty. That is very true here. Few actors on the contemporary scene are as consistently good as Kline. He never disappoints and he always makes each role his own, in one way or another. Malone is very engaging as the girl next door who has a crush on the aforementioned character of Christensen. Whatever credibility exists in the scenes she has with H.C., it is Miss Malone that brings that credibility with her.
I have never been a big fan of Kristin Scott Thomas and this movie does nothing to change that. She has always struck me as being rather stiff and plastic on screen and that trend continues. She is not bad, but she really doesn't bring anything interesting or unique to her character of Kline's remarried ex-wife. There are a hundred actresses in Hollywood who could have filled this role with EXACTLY the same performance she turned in.
Earlier, I did refer to the script as being, "pretty good" which is far from a ringing endorsement. The script does get a little heavy-handed in an effort to be poignant: dramatic tends toward the maudlin. But, despite the director's attempts to elicit tears from you (one is tempted to quote Malcolm X and say that those tears are sought through any means necessary) the basic story is engaging and offers Kline, Malone and Mary Steenburgen room to create characters with some depth and life. While the rest of the cast did not live up to that script, the fault does not lie on the pages themselves.
So, it is a movie with a good number of strengths, a couple of glaring faults, with a nice story and a bit of a predictable ending. A good date movie, one that is pretty enjoyable and one I have recommended to a couple of friends. See it, buy it. You can certainly find many worse ways to spend money these days and, unfortunately, not that many better ways to spend it.Read full review
