Donne-moi ta main

I saw Leap Year at a screening before the holidays, and found it much more "enchanting" than the typical romantic comedy. The story line is simple - basically, it is "It Happened One Night" in Ireland: apartment "stager" Amy Adams, tired of waiting for her uptight, longtime boyfriend to propose, decides to meet him on business in Dublin on Leap Day when tradition states that a man must accept a woman's proposal. Weather forces her to be diverted, first to Wales and then to the west coast of Ireland, she has to be driven to Dublin by and disgruntled bitter local.

But while the story is straight-ahead, the movie is extremely charming due to the terrific chemistry in between Amy Adams and Matthew Good. Whereas other romantic comedies pander to the lowest common denominator with base humor, this one feels much more like "4 Weddings and a Funeral" or "Local Hero." The characters seem simple at first, but we see the depth beyond them as the movie goes on. The comedy is always sharp, and special kudos to the actors who play the superstitious friends of Matthew Good, but this movie never forces in the pratfalls and dumb jokes that we see in your typical romantic comedy movie. And when there a bigger laughs (a scene at a wedding is particularly funny), the movie delivers.

There are a couple of slow spots, especially at the very beginning, but the last 20 minutes are funny, touching and real. I think it is a very good movie for our times right now, with a message that rebukes control and superficiality and all the trappings of what most of feel makes for a successful life. And our audience was with it throughout, and applauded at the end.

Matthew Goode thinks Leap Year is a terrible movie. What's odd about that is Goode is one of the stars of the movie. What's even more odd is that it is not at all a terrible movie. Yes, it is very predictable and formulaic. But sometimes you have to remember that in life there are established formulas because those formulas work. And Leap Year, for what it is intended to be, works. No, it is not by any means a serious motion picture. But not every movie is meant to be The Godfather. There's plenty of room in the world for a light, breezy, enjoyable romantic comedy. And Leap Year fits the bill.

Amy Adams plays Anna, an ultra-organized Boston woman who has her life planned out down to the tiniest detail. She patiently waits for Jeremy, her boyfriend of four years, to propose to her. Finally her patience runs out. When Jeremy takes off for Dublin for a cardiology convention Anna decides to follow him, intending to take advantage of an Irish tradition of women proposing to their men on Leap Day. Unfortunately a storm causes her flight to be diverted and when she finally gets to Ireland she's not in Dublin but way over on the other side of the country. Stuck in this rural no-man's land she needs transportation to Dublin. Enter Goode's character of Declan, the town's innkeeper, bartender and, most importantly, taxi driver. So Anna, the prim, proper girl with her whole life planned out and Declan, the earthy, sarcastic guy who flies by the seat of his pants set out on their road trip. Gee, you don't suppose this mismatched couple might end up falling for one another do you? It's a movie with very little drama. You know the formula, so you think you know where the story's headed. But just because you think you know the ultimate destination that doesn't mean you can't have some fun along the way. Leap Year is not a movie which is uproariously funny by an means but there are enough solid laughs scattered throughout to keep you smiling. The interplay between Adams and Goode is excellent. Adams is relentlessly charming and Goode makes for a very good rogue. The movie looks spectacular, the rolling Irish countryside a sight to behold and a wonderful setting for the story. Many people seem to bemoan what this movie isn't. They miss what it is. A charming, fun, entertaining romantic comedy. That's all the movie aspires to be and in this aim it succeeds. Adams is the perfect actress for this sort of thing, she lights up the screen. And Goode? He does well here too and for him I dearly hope the acting thing works out. Because he has no future as a film critic.

I'm a gruff kind of guy who finds romantic comedies formulaic and cheesy. I never sort of watched Pretty Woman, for goodness sake. And I'm sure the Irish hate it for all the oirishness. But as a romantic comedy, and that is what this is - not an unforgettable, epic movie, but a romantic comedy - it's pretty fine! Left me with a nice feel afterwards, I wasn't even a wee bit annoyed over inconsistencies and stereotypical characters!

Sometimes after seeing (and enjoying) a particular film several times over a period of years -- which BTW is the real acid test of a film, ie, whether it holds up -- you revisit the IMDb database and discover that, for whatever reason, the critics of the day did not agree.

To which you may be inclined to quote a line of dialog from LEAP YEAR, and respond, the critics are "full of pooh." And indeed they are.

This one has it all -- a subtle script that leads you rather than shoves you, great direction, great stars, and great scenery.

It also features Adams at what may be the peak of her beauty. It would be an understatement to say that "the camera loved her." It would be more accurate to say that, if a camera could talk, it would have asked for her number by the last day of shooting.

The ultimate compliment -- gets better with each viewing.

This opinion isn't going to win me any friends but its not as bad as everyone says it is, bear with me.

The thing is with Leap Year is that we all know how this movie is end 20 mins in, the trick is does it make us care to want to watch? I thought it did. Goode and Adams are good together and, yes, there is a little bit too much Irish Tourism advertising going on, but still enough going on to keep us entertained. Feather light yes, but so what, that's not always a bad thing. All movies cannot be Schindlers List.