I Do... Until I Don't

"I Do... Until I Don't" (2017 release; 103 min.) brings the story of a British woman doing a documentary about the state of marriage. As the movie opens, Vivian, the British woman, is giving a presentation to a group of people in Vero Beach, FL. Vivian wonders if there is support to making marriage a 7 year deal with a renewal option. Meanwhile we get to know several married couples: there is Alice and Noah, who sell blinds for interior decorating, are low on money and trying to conceive. Vivian's sister Fanny and her husband are "free thinkers" (read: hippies) who supposedly have an open marriage. And then there is Cybil and Harvey, an older couple whose marriage has seen better times. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the second feature length movie (after the excellent "In a World" a few years ago) that is written, produced and directed by Lake Bell (in addition to starring in the lead role, here as Alice). This basic premise is potentially interesting but alas, the movie gets stuck in certain patterns that are utterly predictable and not even interesting. It's a darn shame, as certainly the performers try their best: Ed Helms plays Bell's husband, but the show is for me almost stolen by the delightful Mary Steenburgen (as Cybil), an all too rare sighting of this great actress. Paul Reiser portrays her husband. This movie is billed as a comedy, and while there certainly are some moments that I chuckled, there isn't anything remotely crazy funny in the movie. In fact, the movie is more rom-com than just comedy. In the end, this movie feels like a missed opportunity: so much talent on the screen! I absolutely love Lake Bell, and I really wanted to like this, but in the end I just couldn't.

"I Do... Until I Don't" is now in its second week at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (7 people, including myself). Given the so-so critical buzz and correlating word-of-mouth, I can't see this playing in theaters very long. This movie really is for Lake Bell fans, and even there, better see this with lowered expectations.

'I DO...UNTIL I DON'T': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new romantic comedy from actress turned writer/director Lake Bell, who also performed both duties on 2011's 'IN A WORLD...'. Bell also costars in the movie, with Ed Helms, Dolly Wells, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Amber Heard and Wyatt Cenac. The story revolves around a bitter filmmaker, who's interviewing three couples in hopes of updating society's concept of marriage. The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. I think it's a sweet, and mostly enjoyable movie.

The story revolves around an egotistical documentarian, named Vivian (Wells), who is hoping to make a hit documentary proving her cynical beliefs on marriage are true. She thinks marriage should only be a seven-year contract, with the option to renew. Vivian finds three different couples, all going through their own different relationship issues, to be her film's subjects. When the relationships turn out to be more positive than the filmmaker was hoping for, she tries to intervene and make things worse for them.

The movie is mildly funny, but most of all it's just uplifting and sweet. I've never had any problems with feel good films, I think they're a necessity for a happy life. This is one of those movies. There's not a lot more to it, but Bell does a decent enough job directing, and the cast is all good as well. I enjoyed watching it.

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This film tells the story of three couples in a small town, who have varying degrees of relationship problems. They are approached by a documentary film maker, and their relationships are drastically changed.

The story is off to a slow start, but it gradually improves. The initial impression is that the film has a lot of static shots, as if the camera is mounted on a tripod. As the film progresses, the camera work improves and moves with the actors. The story gets sympathetic and sweet as the film progresses too. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first half.

disclaimer: some people identify as Cumberbitch; I definitely identify as Bell Boy

I can imagine why most of the reviews were pretty brutal: for an American comedy it's pretty subtle, perhaps because of how much Lake Bell has studied and worked in the UK. For a drama it's often times pretty corny, especially in the final 15-20 minutes where there's a whole lot of resolution with not a whole lot of story to accompany/account for it...

Still, I think it's beautifully made with nice performances of a bunch of really nice people, and perhaps because of the (quite human?) amount of corn, the resolution did feel nicely cathartic to me. Lovely cathartic even.

7.8 out of 10, to be more precise. Thanks Lake!

There's a good cast and some humorous and poignant moments here, but the movie never seems to gel into an enjoyable or entertaining film. A lot of the dialogue and crude humor also seems to fall flat and I could not emotionally connect to the ensemble characters.

Dolly Wells is strong in her role of Vivian Prudeck, a conniving British documentary filmmaker trying to interview 3 couples that she hopes will eventually prove her theory that marriage as we know it is archaic, and that it should be a 7 year contract with an option to renew. Prudeck's interplay with her deadpan assistant Mel (Connie Shin) can be darkly funny at times.

Overall, despite some top shelf names in the cast here, the script by Lake Bell, who also directs and stars in the movie, just doesn't consistently work , in my opinion, and therefore this one was a disappointment to me.