A Life Less Ordinary

I'm a big fan of Cameron Diaz, and Ewan McGregor caught my attention after his riveting performance in Trainspotting. McGregor is the bumbling kidnapper and Diaz is the victim who seems to know more about kidnapping than he does. All this makes for a really funny comic act from the duo as they progress from kidnapper/victim to lovers, with the help of some angels who live in a seemingly hip heaven. The pace of the movie doesn't let up much, and you find yourself immersed totally as you wait for the ending, which, sadly, could have more of a cliffhanger effect than it has now.

After the success of Trainspotting (1995), British filmmaking trio, Danny Boyle, John Hodge & Andrew MacDonald made A Life less Ordinary. The film could not be a more different departure from their previous effort. A Life less Ordinary is a wild and sweat natured romantic fantasy, concerning our hero Robert (Ewan McGregor) and spoiled rich girl Celine (Cameron Diaz) and the two angels (Hunter & Lindo) who are given the task of getting them to fall in love. Boyle uses many great cinematic techniques to make the film seem even more fantastic, and Hodges writing is some of the funniest in a long time. Sadly the film does go off the rails somewhat in the last twenty minutes, but it's still an extremely entertaining film, full of bizarre characters and images that makes it one of the most enjoyable two hours you could spend watching a film.

8/10

I just love watching movies where I do not expect excellence - and yet there it is. I was very happy with a Life Less Ordinary. It seemed to me to be unique, charming, fun and just a great way to spend some enjoyable time.

When a movie gets this enjoyable, I need to ask why. In my opinion in this movie its "casting" was exceptional. And of course one then has to credit directing that puts the cast at their best. Clearly Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz can both be characters. Well, this is a movie that puts them at their best, funniest and most charming. The director also brings out their unique features as an actor and actress that just makes the movie enjoyable.

The highlight of this kidnapping movie is also unexpected. It for me was the song and dance routine with Ewan and Cameron. They were great - fun and charming.

This is a movie that I will want to watch again and again.

It seems that with A Life Less Ordinary you either love it or you hate it. Personally I am of the former persuasion, with it being a favourite of mine. I can see were the detractors come from, especially after viewing Boyle & Hodge's previous works. ALLO is in a completely different in style to their previous two films Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. But to say it is the weaker of the three films would be a fallacy. Stylistically the film is excellent - reminding me a lot of a Coen brothers film. The script is spot on and the performances of McGregor and Diaz are both excellent (which surprised me for Diaz) as their does seem to be a real chemistry between the two. A very enjoyable romantic comedy overall, and if an old cynic like me can say that, it must be good.

With divorce rates increasing, two angels are sent on a mission to bring men and women together as they should be - or not bother coming back to heaven. Their mission is a young man, Robert, who has been replaced as a cleaner by a robot and the spoilt daughter of his boss, Celine. The two meet as Robert bursts into his boss's office to demand his job back and accidentally ends up kidnapping Celine. As they go on the run they gradually grow to hate each other less.

Following up Trainspotting was never going to be an easy task - but at least they could have at least got near the quality of that film! In what feels like it wanted to be deliberately quirky, the plot involves angels controlling fate to bring two young people together in love. If it developed this idea in a structured and enjoyable manner then everything would have been fine, however as it is it is all over the place and doesn't really make much in the way of sense. Instead it feels more like a wildly out of control collection of stylish ideas.

In terms of narrative it barely hangs together and it creates a problem when it requires us to care for the characters and be part of their romance (as in, care about it). It is very appropriate that the end credits features a cartoon of sorts for that is fitting for the level of development that is in the central tale. The action is silly but not to the point where it gains the imaginative quirkiness of, say, the Coen brothers. Instead it is hard to penetrate the film and get involved with it, the action is daft and illogical, the laughs are rare and the characters are more like cartoon characters than people. It could have worked - but it doesn't.

The cast is good on paper, but the lack of material lets them down. McGregor came to fame through Boyle, but he gets done no favours here; he does stand out as someone who tries hard to make the material work, but he can't manage it. Diaz is good as well but again it's the material given to her that is the problem. The support cast is better simply because their lack of character and development isn't a problem; Lindo is good even if Hunter doesn't really fit in; although Holm and Hedaya have OK little cameos.

Overall this has energy but it doesn't really hang together in a way that works. It has touches of imagination and style but mostly it drowns in a sea of quirkiness lacking substance. It's a shame that such a talented cast and crew didn't have something better to work with - quirkiness for quirkiness' sake is not enough here.