Teach me love

Richard Haig (Pierce Brosnan) is a well-respected English professor in the United Kingdom, with fiery lectures that were directly inspired from his father and a serious, nonconformist attitude to life and literature. Richard is also a womanizer, indulging in relationships with many of his beautiful undergraduate students that admire him for his aged beauty and intellect. He currently finds himself infatuated with Kate (Jessica Alba), a twenty-five-year-old American woman, who he winds up marrying and having a kid with, much to his surprise initially, but to his delight eventually. Despite this relationship, Richard has always found Kate's sister Olivia (Salma Hayek) incredibly gorgeous as well, and finally gets his chance to win her over when Kate asks for a divorce upon meeting someone from her work that loves and cares about her more than he does.

Richard already has ninety-nine problems and this isn't one of them. Excusing the fact he had to move across the country in order for his marriage to Kate to work without complication, Richard is also an illegal immigrant and needs to gain citizenship if he hopes to stay in the country. With a divorce in the works and a recent DUI on his record, Richard is anything but a sure bet to gain citizenship to the United States. It's only some sick karmic revenge that during all of this, Richard realizes the torment of womanizing and trying to maintain the upkeep on numerous relationships since he can't commit to one woman.

Some Kind of Beautiful is the kind of film I'd ostensibly loathe; admittedly, just the plot made me cringe as I thought of nothing more than an unlikable brute not realizing the ill of his ways. Even as someone who finds commitment and real relationships to be one of the most beautiful things in the world, Some Kind of Beautiful resonated with me as a piece of delightful Kabuki Theater, for lack of a better term, though I'm sure members of Kabuki Theater would look at this film and roll their eyes. This is a zany, screwball comedy at its core, the kind that has gone by the wayside in favor of more romantic, if incredulous, displays of romance and over-the-top comedy, despite lacking half the comedic talent and screen writing craziness.

Keep in mind, Some Kind of Beautiful focuses on a contemptible character and his decisions throughout the film raise red-flags on a consistent basis. On top of that, many situations find themselves not only flirting but dancing with improbability. I'm not afraid to admit that. The problem is that Some Kind of Beautiful, with its trailers, its poster/DVD cover, and its overall sunniness paint it as your average romantic-comedy, brimful of hope and optimism. This is anything but a cheery, feel-good romantic-comedy. Think of the Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler-headlined They Came Together from a few years back, which was a self-referential jab at the onslaught of ridiculous romantic-comedies. Some Kind of Beautiful basically takes the disposition and approach to the genre tropes of a romantic-comedy, and proceeds to spit in its face with its cynical grip on the story and the focus on a despicable character.

A large part of the film's success is attributable to Brosnan, who does a smooth job at playing both unlikable, but undeniably suave. One could analyze the character he plays in a very psychological manner, even making claims that his lack of respect for women and constant desire for "something newer or better" is a result of his father's four marriages, his drinking, or his possible sex addiction. The problem with that assertion is director Tom Vaughan and screenwriter Matthew Newman don't seem to embellish those instances and simply propose them in passing. The real issue is Brosnan's Richard character, who does many unconscionable things throughout the course of this film. The one thing he seems to consistently do right is treat his son with care and respect, for what that's worth. He never blows him off, never breaks a promise, and always knows how to calm him down in the face of danger or trouble.

Furthermore, this film, for as unlikable as its characters can be and for as ugly as its situations can be, has a spirited supporting cast of both Alba and Hayek, particularly Hayek, who help command the screen and work well on their own, even if their chemistry with Brosnan directly doesn't always hold weight. There's never a real spark with either of these women with Brosnan, but perhaps that's only fitting for the premise and idea of this film. When you embark on the life of disconnect and lack of commit that Richard has, a spark is not what you'll get - an endless cycle of heartbreak and disappoint seems to be more fitting.

Some Kind of Beautiful also manages to be pretty uproariously funny more often than it isn't, and that's largely because everyone here is great at performing the classic roles screwball comedy requires in order to be success. The performers are capable of physical comedy routines that are frantic and scatterbrained without being too ridiculous, and the situations here, while many are incredulous, have a way of coming off as at least believable for the world of the film. For many films, that's about as much as you can ask, and while this may not be the cleanest and happiest comedy you'll see this year, it is a lot funnier and more positive than its subject matter often allows.

Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Alba, and Salma Hayek. Directed by: Tom Vaughan.

First let me address the majority of reviews here. It always prove true that many people who review movies probably don't get movies. Countless times I see reviews that demand the movie conform to their desires and expectations, rather than the reviewer letting the story take form and come to it's full shape, and then look for an understanding. Heaven forbid a movie should stray too far from the cookie-cutter.

I saw it said elsewhere, mockingly, what a great idea it is for a rom-com about a 60 year old professor and a 20 year old co-ed. Clearly they missed the point, since the movie itself shows the complications in this, and the point is NOT the romantic entanglement between the two, but instead about chasing dreams and growing up. It's about the thin line between them.

Pierce Brosnan's character is shown as being extremely successful...when he's in his world. He chooses to step out of his world, and in this new world he enters, one of a seeming fantasy, he looses his potency. It's psychological, as well as borrowing from classic fairy-tale themes. And it's not super deep, but it's not surface level either. It gives a viewer enough to think about, without being an exhausting exercise.

To further underscore this, in his world, the beautiful female is doting and filled with admiration. Once he leaves his world and enters hers, she becomes a bit of a power mad shrew. But he's faced with other factors and some are sympathetic issues, others are off-putting. He's a great dad, and was even a loyal husband, and this makes him sympathetic, but he's never had to exist in a place that didn't cater to him, and some of his ways of dealing with life are childish and embarrassing.

The only real problem I saw with this movie, and it was a major one, was that the person who cheated never had to apologize, or even act remorseful. I expected there to be SOME contrition at some point, but it was never addressed. This would have been bad enough had it just been left to the audience to hold the impression that they were a selfish turd, but as the movie drives towards it's conclusion, the other characters begin apologizing to the cheater for things that weren't a tenth as bad as the infidelity that had taken place. This really stood out and kept me from being totally taken in by the ending resolutions of the movie, but it didn't keep it from being worth watching; just really frustrated with how often movies gloss over major issues as if the audience is too dumb to catch on. In fact, I'd almost wonder if there were some scenes on the cutting room floor that tackled the whole angle but they felt would take too long to cover.

This movie is NOT a rom-com. It is a light-hearted romantic drama that assesses life decisions and directions that probably aren't relatable to anyone still in their younger years. It's not super-deep, but it has some allegory and symbolism if you know how see it.

Hayek, Alba and Brosnan work it out. I didn't have any idea what I was expecting with this movie, but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased. It had some good humor, which is the COM part and it had some intimacy, which is the ROM part. That sums it up for ROMCOM. It is an enjoyable, light-heart-ed movie. It is also a great date flick. Of course, I adore my Latinas! The little boy was excellent in his role as well. The acting was great, especially the father's eye's when he looked at his son (Brosnan) with great intent. I've never seen such a piercing set of eyes with intensity. I rated this a bit higher to see if we can get it to a Solid 6 Stars. I don't care for enjoyable movies being below 6 Stars. If you like ROMCOM's, you will enjoy it as well.

I read reviews and expected disaster. In fact it's quite different from what one may expect. It is not a typical romantic comedy, there is a lot of satire on the American way of living, while the whole film should not be taken too seriously. It is a fun, beautiful places, good acting. Just some life reality, although shown from a little bit funny perspective. Just enjoy it, because you can. I am a real fan of Brosnan and think he delivers as usual. Handsome despite his age, keeps just a proper distance to himself and the guy he plays. All leading actors are just fine and convincing. Watch it and you will enjoy it. May by this is not an extremely ambitious and complicated movie, but don't we need some fun from time to time? In addition, the backdrop landscape is just so nice to watch. So why not give it a go.

Now this movie does have its moments of being relatively cheesy, but it wasn't that bad. I found myself becoming more into the movie as it progressed, never mind the beauty of both female leads. I'm not typically a fan of watching movies more than once, but this one definitely goes on my re-watchable list.

A fairly predictable ending but didn't bother my interest in wanting to keep finding out what happens.

Give it a chance, you just might be glad you did.