In Love

Al Connelly (Freddie Prinze Jr.) is a college sophomore who meets the girl of his dreams, freshman Imogen (Julia Stiles). His father is famous TV Chef Ray (Henry Winkler) and he would love to be his own master chef.

It's written poorly, and shot awkwardly. This is Kris Isacsson's first big film. The dialog is clunky. It starts right from love at first sight, then meanders with no drama until they break up after a pregnancy scare. There are things that don't make any sense, and things that's just isn't funny. It is being told by both Al and Imogen's point of view. They talk right into the camera at the audience which stops the movie every time and do a lot of narration.

But the future star power of the cast is amazing. They got Selma Blair as a porno star, Ashton Kutcher as a weirdo musician, and Rosario Dawson as her best friend. It's fun to see them when they were lesser known actors.

"Down To You" is yet another formulaic teen romance movie....boy meets girl, boy and girl date, break up and get back together. Very uninteresting,the cast (mostly) is forgettable and frankly, we've seen this movie before......

However, what sets "Down" apart is 3 wonderful performances, and 1 so bad it's gonna get special attention in this review...

We'll start with the good....Julia Stiles is Imogen, a new freshman at an unnamed NYC college. She is a stellar artist, and wishes to persue that in some manner. Ms. Stiles delivers a performance above the drivel she has to work with, making Imogen a teen character with heart and feeling. She once again (as in "10 Things") dances in this one..and I personally think she needs a dance scene in each movie.

Henry Winkler plays Ray Connelly...host of a nationwide cooking show, and father of Al, the lead male in the story. His character is well played and humorous, with grand visions for both himself and his son (he wants to do a cooking show take off of "Cops" with Al). A great performance from Mr. Winkler, and he is quickly putting the ghost of Fonzie behind him.

Now to the bad before I surprise you and give you the last good.....Selma Blair plays Cyrus, a major flirt and porn actress. I hate to have to say this, but after "Cruel Intentions" and now this, I am truly convinced that she is either "someone's" daughter or is involved in a relationship with someone. This woman cannot act. I truly believe with every fiber of my being that she could not play dead convincingly. Hopefully her performance here will kill what little career she has.

Now, for the last good review.......are you ready for this?? Freddie Prinze Jr. is Alfred..the film's lead male character. He spots Imogen across a crowded room and the two instantly hit it off. After forgetable turns in every movie he has done, he shows a never before seen maturity and makes Alfred a character that seems real and true.

"Down To You" is more formulaic drivel aimed at the easily entertained teen audience. While the story is something we've all seen before, the performances of its lead characters make this movie worth a watch, regardless of how bad it really is.

1 out of 5

What was I thinking? I basically got drawn into seeing this because all my friends wanted to. I figured "why not" and while I was watching the "film" I found myself asking over and over "Why me?" Sure Freddie Prinze Jr. is nice to look at, but worth 7 bucks? I think not.

Now, where have I seen this movie before? Oh yes...every other movie directed towards teens in the recent years. I'm sorry, I might just be a teenager but I know crap when it's crap and I know what I like, and this movie I did not. Where was the plot? Where was one spec of originality? And where were the actors?

Selma Blair was the best of the bunch. I don't care how good looking Freddie is, he needs to take some acting classes, either that strive to make his characters have a little bit more difference then the name change. I like Julia Stiles, but normally when you have to play off a bad actor it reflects badly on you. I didn't see the chemistry this couple was supposed to have.

Yes "Down to You" has it's cute moments, some funny moment, and few sweet moment, but worth 7 bucks? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Save your money and your time. Wait for video, or just don't see it at all.

"Down to You" was slammed by critics when it was released, claiming it to be unoriginal, unfunny and really a waste of time. Pay no attention to them. It is rare for romantic comedies to be entirely original [they are after all dealing with love], but Down to You does have it's moments differing it from most of the recently released teen comedies [to which it has constantly been compared].

Through narration by both protagonists the audience is able to see the development of both characters in the long-term and how they ultimately react to each other. Freddie Prinze Jr and Julia Stiles were perfectly cast and behaved as mature young adults for the majority of the film [sparing the audience from cliched teen talk]. They leave the zaniness to their co-stars, which was a good move. The film is more of a "love story" then most recent teen flicks dealing mainly with "physical attraction" or "opposites attract".

One problem with Down to You however is it's not presented well enough to keep the audience interested. Perhaps in the hands of a more capable director this would be achieved, as I got a bit bored with a few of the scenes and some jokes really fall flat. Because of this, it's not as memorable as other teen flicks such as "10 Things" or "Scream", even.. as it's pacing is quite slow. It's saving grace is the cast. Henry Winkler gives a comic performance as Prinze's celebrity-chef father and Zak Orth plays Prinze's "friend turned porn- star-friend" with gutso. Selma Blair gave a sultry performance but lacked development making her nothing more than "the porn star girl".

Compared to the other three major teen romance flicks of the year (Loser, Whatever it Takes, Boys and Girls) Down to You is indeed one of the finest. It just needed more "oomph" to make it more memorable.

7/10

"Down to You" is one of the brightest and refreshing romances I've seen. With two of Hollywood young and hottest stars, "Down To You" has become one of my favorite romantic films. I enjoyed this film for several reasons from the presentation to the performances.

I will argue with anyone who says "Down To You" is one of the worst films ever made. The material is new, the dialogue is fresh and the performances are superb. I concede their are cliche's in this film; however, it should not detract from the other assets of "Down to You." In order to accomplish the mission of convincing the audience the script works, the casting director must find just the right chemistry in two highly skilled and talented stars.

In this case, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles have the best chemistry anybody could ask for. It was such an awesome sight to witness a the director bring two of the hottest stars together to produce one of the year's best romantic comedies in "Down To You."

I knew Julia Stiles could act but what I didn't realize is that Stiles beauty radiated off the screen. I was very impressed with her ability to capture the audience's attention with her smile. Stiles is a rising star and she has nowhere to go but up in Hollywood; I can't wait see her next film.

For those who don't like this film, I ask you: How could you not appreciate this romantic comedy? It deals with so many different things and is done to perfection. I have always enjoyed a script that has depth to it as this one does because it tells the story of two people and their struggles to hold their relationship together and keep their romance alive.

The best aspect of "Down To You" is it allows everyone the opportunity to see the ups and downs in a relationship. I feel this film would make for a great example in studying films revolving around relationships.

"Down To You" was very enjoyable to watch and I wish everyone could feel the same enjoyment I felt watching this film.