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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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 Posted - 08/09/2009 : 06:08:47
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When you see John Krasinski ("The Office (USA)") and Maya Rudolph (SNL) are the stars of a the film Away We Go, you're naturally going to think this is intended to be a rip-roaring comedy. Then you see its directed by Sam Mendes and you realize that while this may have some comedy in it (and it certainly does), this isn't going to be one of those films that we can toss off as a lark like some crappy Apatow film.
This is actually a fun, but touching story about a couple who are about to have a baby and find out that the father's parents are moving to Europe one month before the baby is due. Without anything to tie them down (she's an artist for medical books and he works through is cell phone and internet), they go and search for a new place (and boy, do they ever need one) to re-start their lives. Sort of a "coming of age" story for prospective parents, if you will.
The cast is filled with familiar, but not overly famous faces - mostly from TV shows - both drama and comedy - such as "West Wing", and "Two and a Half Men". I think these people were cast for their ability to act the parts chosen, rather than their star status, which is probably what makes it a far more cohesive feeling film. We feel that these people - despite some of the outragous things they do and say - are really real, and really know each other, and even could be living next door to us.
There's attention to detail and insights into human nature that are so realistic, we can imagine them happening every day. For instance in one scene the couple are trying to get on a plane. The check-in clerk looks at Verona's stomach and asks for the note from her doctor. Of course, since Verona is only six months pregnant, she doesn't have a note from her doctor, because you only need one after you're in your 8th month. The woman then asks a colleague if she thinks Verona's only 6 months gone, who in turn brings in another colleague. It doesn't sound so cute on paper, but trust me, it works wonderfully.
This movie is nicely paced, if a touch on the slower side. The laughs come when they should, as do the tears. There's something honest and truthful about this film, that brings us beyond the temporary silliness of what's happening on screen, that says "get to know yourself, its worth it", even while we are laughing at ourselves. While its no "American Beauty" and probably won't be recognized by the Oscars, I think it really is a film worth watching.
(Gotta mention that the music is great here - perfectly timed to become obvious during the transition scenes but unobtrusive elsewhere.)
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 09/09/2009 : 11:41:18
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This is a real surprise, and I'm hoping it's going to be a hit for all involved. I couldn't get my head around it being directed by Sam Mendes though who seems to be having some kind of strange mid-career crisis. It looks and feels like a first film by a new American independent director, not the guy who directed the overblown Road to Perdition and Jarhead. It's not even glossy in the way American Beauty was. It's a little odd in that respect and confirms that Mendes doesn't really know what kind of director he is; other than he hit a gold spot here by casting little known comic actors as his leads and telling a very simple, heartfelt story. All the cameos from family and friends are priceless - and genuinely hilarious. Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Allison Janney in particular give fantastic performances as squirmingly embarrassing characters. But Krasinski and Rudolph really make those extremes work by playing it truthfully and with so much heart you adore them both within minutes. As a direct comparison to "(500) Days of Summer" which packs in cliche after cliche of "this is what really happens when you are in love with someone (if you're 16)" in a startlingly laboured way, the screenplay for this is as impressively real and adult as "Summer" was teenage and forced.
There's a bit of a mis-step at the end - the last chapter didn't hang together for me at all, and the seemingly endless mumbling guitar playing indie singer/songwriter soundtrack was a bad miscalculation - if you don't like that music, and I don't, it's like having your teeth pulled. Otherwise - go see! It's the funniest and one of loveliest films I've seen all year.
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Edited by - demonic on 09/09/2009 11:43:34 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 09/10/2009 : 06:24:28
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| I'm glad you liked it, and sorry the music wasn't to your taste, but at least it didn't ruin your viewing pleasure! |
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Away We Go
