Friends & Lovers

Okay, so they're twenty-somethings. Okay, so they've got problems or whatever. But does it strike anyone as odd that these guys tool around in Land Rovers and E-class Mercedes'? And, if they've got the cash for their little romps, why do they road-trip to their ski resort rather than fly? The first twenty minutes alone kill the film, the rest is just its fall to the ground.

'Friends & lovers' is not all that bad to deserve this low a rating. It may not be iconic but it manages to make you chuckle throughout. I probably would have given this movie a miss had I not been reading Downey's biography. I just got curious to see the pre-Iron Man movies of Downey & I am not disappointed.

The plot is simple. Friends decide to go skiing when one of their dads invites them over. In this journey they find their partners and mend their bonds. Finally all is well that ends well.

Robert Downey Jr's role, although brief, keeps your eyes glued to him. This is probably one of his most sassiest yet cheesy performance. I guess the role required him to be that. His German accent is quiet funny. The highlight of the movie is when Downey reveals that he is from New Jersey & not Germany. That explains the fake accent I guess. I quiet fell for his funky hairdo.

Worth a watch. You will enjoy it better with like minded friends.

Friends and Lovers is a meandering and pointless story about a half dozen depthless characters finding love and sex in a luxury ski lodge. The characters don't seem to have any past but thanks to a talented product placement director, they do have very expensive cars and clothes. Tedious themes (son estranged from father, insensitive Lothario who can't find love) aren't helped any by a gay story line that suggests the writer has never met a gay person in his life. In an industry where producers have to struggle to piece together the funding for a film like "The Opposite of Sex", its upsetting to see such a waste of human effort and money as "Friends and Lovers".

With a cast like this, you figure the film shouldn't be that bad, but believe me it is. The cast are fighting a losing battle from the start, Robert Downey Jr, should kick himself for getting wrapped up in this film, and as for his accent, the Bavarians have probably put a Fatwa out on him. Claudia Schiffer, shows some potential, but the gag that she falls for a guy with the line "Have you ever considered being a model?" is so thin, it makes Twiggy look over weight. Alison Eastwood also shows potential, but again drowns in the watery story. If this was a kids report card, the phrase 'Can do much better' would be the the one that stands out

I rented this flick on the strength of Neil Barry's nude scene. I had a silly crush on him from OC & Stiggs, a terrible Altman film from 1985. I ran across a full frontal nude shot of Barry on the Web and it mentioned Friends and Lovers as the source. The image was so odd, Barry brazenly naked, except for a heavy winter coat and surrounded by snow and a Baldwin. This wasn't some sideways dark shot, grainy screen grab. I'm talking 'Blueboy Hits the Slopes - Special Issue' quality shot. What the heck? He's not much to look at now, but I had to know how any American movie worked in such blatant full-frontal male nudity. Dear god, I have paid for my sins. This was one of the worst pieces of thrash I've ever seen. Long story short- There is a juvenile discussion of the characters penis that makes the girls all twitter. Then, continuing in the cheesy-teen flick vein (mind you, all these folks are in their 30's), The Baldwin tries to get the girls to strip for the Jacuzzi which leads to, 'Boys first! No Girls First!' Then the boys concede and Barry drops his towel to show off his healthy endowment. The girls all run away, supposedly never having seen a penis of any size before. When The Baldwin complains, Barry gets to smirk and say, 'It was your idea, dude.' Gee, why did the screenwriter think it was necessary to ask an actor to do a full frontal shot? Did they place an ad in Variety looking for well hung actors? Did Barry have to 'measure up' at the screen-test? And I wonder if Barry was comfortable with such exposure as it was completely irrelevant to his character. Oh, wait! Barry was the co-screenwriter on this crap! So that means the writer/actor actually wrote in a scene where he gets to expose himself and show the world what a big wiener he has. Lord knows that Hollywood is just a big tinkling contest but to actually write a scene for your own exhibitionist tendencies is too weird.