Modern Heart

To put it simply, it is boring. It moves too slow and is cheesy. The story line is very weak. The best cinematography is at the beginning credits, even though they drag on for way too long. The characters are a little hard to empathize with. It is trying to be good, but the writing and direction is really weak. It is very G-rated stuff. It starts out slowly about this 20something guy who is like Johnboy in the Waltons, who goes to the big city with a clueless friend in a beat-up station wagon and a mannequin (of all things!) to make it big in the art world. The mannequin is their silent partner, but says much about the campyness of it all. Predictably someone has to fall in love. The actors do very well with what they have and the casting is good, although peopled with only a few that can be googled. I will not say the rest in case you have to see it.

This was the director's first movie, and while it's not perfect, I thought it was overall a good movie. The plot is about two recent art school graduates who move to Kansas City, where one of them meets and falls in love with an insurance actuary.

By far the best part of movie is the interaction between the two male leads -- they act like typical college buddies, joking around a lot, yet you can tell they are still good friends. This interaction, along with a few other artist characters they meet on the way, is the main source of comedy in the film. (Also, there is a funny scene after the credits so don't leave early!) Most of the comedy is verbal as opposed to slapstick. In contrast, I found the dialogue between the female lead and her friend very scripted and fake, though the actresses did the best they could with the dialogue that was given to them.

The romantic relationship in the movie was overall very sweet -- not overtly sexy, not too comedic except for a few moments, just sweet. The plot (at least as far as the romance was concerned) was a bit predictable like most romantic comedies, so the joy comes from watching the characters on their journey as opposed to wondering where they will end up.

There are no sex scenes and I don't recall any bad language, so while it's safe for the whole family, younger children would probably get bored with this movie -- I would recommend it for teens and adults. I agree with the reviewer who said the best cinematography was in the opening credits. I didn't think the rest of the cinematography was horrible, but there were a few times where I thought the movie cut too quickly between scenes, especially at the beginning. I liked the soundtrack, though found it distracting in one or two scenes. The pace is great -- not too slow you get bored, not so fast it's confusing. Since most of the movie was filmed in Kansas City, if you have lived in the area it's fun to notice famous landmarks and restaurants.

Overall, a good family-friendly movie, and I would recommend it mainly for the comedy aspects and the acting of the male leads. The director has the potential to make some good movies in the future with a little more practice!