derridasgirl

There are a lot of good things in this movie with talented actors, some clever dialog, and fairly good production values. As I think about it (I saw it two days ago), I am dissatisfied with the film more. To be honest, you have to suspend disbelief to a certain extent in most films, and you have to believe that people fall for each other in an instant in romantic comedies. Without revealing any spoilers, there were just too many changes of heart for me to continue to support the story, and one issue in particular regarding Claire Danes character was just unbelievable on its face. The acting was universally good, but the story was not and that was ultimately what made this a disappointing film for me.

I rented this film at a friend's suggestion and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I was anticipating a variation on the "fake gay-fish-out-of-water" theme where a character has to (allegedly hilariously) pretend to be gay for some reason. That is not at all what this film is about. Yes, the lead is mistaken as gay, but he does not suddenly change and act differently, it is the views of others around him that change, which makes the film much more interesting. Not to say that the film makes any huge social commentary, but it also does not portray gays as "others" which was refreshing. At its heart, this simply a well made, funny, heterosexual romantic comedy which has a gay plot which is respectful to people of all sexual orientations. Some may find it a bit light in tone and heft, but I found it exactly correct for a romantic comedy. And best of all, it was actually both funny and romantic.