No Stranger Than Love

This is not going to be to everyone's taste, but still, I am a bit taken aback by the low rating it has. It certainly is different, but I found it quietly charming and enchanting.

People all have their own ideas when it comes to love, but Love with a capital L is far more elusive and can slip through our grasp without us even knowing it.

The men in the village chase after their "ideal" love in the form of Alison Brie. She, it turn loves none of them, not even the coach who finally breaks down her resistance and falls into a hole in her living room for his trouble.

Meanwhile a mysterious stranger arrives to further muddy the waters.

The dialogue is quirky and amusing and adds to the enjoyment.

I really have to hand it to Alison Brie. She gives off an earnest charm that pairs nicely with the offbeat tone of the indie features she regularly participates in, whether comedy, drama, or otherwise. 'No stranger than love,' it must be said, is nothing if not offbeat. There's a clean, pleasant sensibility about the production - the sets, the wardrobe, Nick Wernham's direction, Michael LeBlanc's cinematography, and more - that dovetails neatly with the airs Brie gives off, and the lightness of the humor in Steve Adams' screenplay. Sure, it's a romantic comedy of a sort, but there's hardly any questioning that this is a decidedly quirky one.

Ninety minutes pass by surprisingly quickly as the picture delicately touches upon notions of appearance, perception, or expectations versus reality (what looks or sounds good belying something more shady or unwelcome, or vice versa; knowledge versus ignorance), and finding truth somewhere in the middle. Light on its feet, lighthearted - and arguably a little light in terms of content, too, discernible not least in those ways in which the writing is peculiarly direct. Yet even at that there's subtle, somewhat underhanded wit and intelligence in the dialogue and scene writing that makes this feel at once both a pure embodiment of indie conceptualizations of film, and in some measure perhaps a satire of it. That duality is borne in no small part from the sheer, utmost oddness that characterizes the entirety of the plot, so left-field that it's honestly very hard to meaningfully describe. There's a lot going on here, not in the narrative, but in what the narrative represents.

'No stranger than love' tries to say something a little more profound about, well, love, and I'm not sure how well it succeeds; as I've seen in other features, the message gets muddled in the effort to be idiosyncratic. Short of that, however, it's fun and softly enchanting all the while. It's well made, and written, and acted; the cast is obviously having a good time. It's rather beautifully shot, for that matter. Even compared to some of the other titles Brie has been involved with (or other cast members, of course), I don't know if this is quite as strong or essentail - but it's enjoyable, and a nice diversion for ninety minutes. Does it need to be anything else? Other folks will probably get more out of this than I did, but one way or another I do think it's worth checking out, especially for fans of those involved. Best recommended if you're looking for something relatively uncomplicated that you don't need to be actively invested in.

Characters are filled out making No Stranger Thank Love a surprisingly useful movie. When faced with ethical decisions on love and romance poor choices can lead people in real life to fall into a 'hole' which all of us are familiar with. As often casualties of love do need a lifeline to crawl out of their hole. During this process Colin Hanks is Suspended in a black inter-dimensional hole one of the main characters said, without any distractions I have a new sense of clarity. You may think to yourself this is a corny story line but don't dismiss it too quickly. When Colin's character, Coach Clint Coburn is faced with multiple consequences that would impact his world he is forced to admit his love for his wife. What are your thoughts on sensory deprivation leading to a new sense of clarity?

Guys in Spot Valley have a crush on popular school teacher Lucy Sherrington (Alison Brie). She has an affair with married football coach Clint Coburn (Colin Hanks). When she finally says "I love you", a hole opens up in the middle of her living room and Clint falls into the dark abyss. He's left floating somewhere deep inside and she struggles to get him out. Rydell Whyte (Justin Chatwin) is looking for Clint. He's a goon working for Clint's bookie.

It's actually kinda boring to have every man repeatedly hit on her. It's a funny idea that isn't that funny in its execution. That's my general feeling about this movie. The idea of this dark screwball comedy with Alison Brie is fun but it's dead pan flat for the most part. Chatwin tries to be quirky funny but can't get beyond quirky dark. Brie should be more flustered but she's too deer in the headlights. There is an obvious easy way to lie about the hole to his wife but Clint does it poorly. There is the theme of love but it's somewhat muddled. There is nothing overly objectionable but this doesn't engage me.

It's a pity the hole has no closure. This story is a bit quirky, moves to being satirical but in the end is quite simply sweet. Well cast, reasonably delivered and fun to watch. Worth taking a chance on.