Por uma Vida Menos Ordinária

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

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.

By reading the comments here you might get an idea that this is a movie which you "either love or hate". I disagree. Actually I think the truth is quite the opposite - most likely you will be utterly confused by the movie and be very hard pressed to decide whether you liked it or not.

There is a rich girl and a dude with quite a bad luck run going on. The guy kidnaps a girl. There are also some angels whose role isn't clear. A lot of confusing things happen and then the movie ends. With a claymation sequence.

Perhaps if they threw out the whole "angels" angle it would be better. Perhaps the angels are the only thing saving it from being utter dreck. I don't know. That's the most honest comment I can give - I dunno. Much like the angels in question - it seems that even they are not really sure of what are their plans and motivations. But even if I disregard the whole angels and divine intervention stuff, sure fact is that the plot just zigs and zags and has more dead ends then Ozzy Osbourne's hair. Right when you think the movie goes somewhere, the plot throws another tiring curve-ball right up to the end. Which you probably will not like. Or will "get it" and then write essays about it here on the message boards, but let's not go there, I beg you.

For me the biggest complaint is that the movie tries so hard to enter the quite elusive "weird but entertaining" category and constantly fails. It is at times witty, at times trippy, at times baffling but never quite reaches the entertainment level it aims for. I can't say I didn't enjoy it, at times I really felt I'm loving it, but more it went on I couldn't but miss the fact that the creators really didn't have a clue what to do with it or where they wanted it to go. Rewatching further reinforced the fact I had the first time around - the movie's a mess, no matter how much it tried to hide it.

To sum up, this movie is at the same time good and amusing as well as utterly confusing, unpolished and tiresome. So in average it is, well, quite average.

5/10

Finally, a romantic comedy that is original, intelligent and truly funny. Not to say unpredictable! Usually I dislike this genre, but i can't help loving this movie.

The cast is great, and the chemistry between Cameron Diaz and Ewan McGregor is sparkling. (And McGregor even manages to look good in spite of a terrible hair cut. What a performance.) Holly Hunter is great as usual. Please also notice the appearance of Maurey Chakin as the somewhat odd neighbor. If you happen to recognize him, it could be from "My Cousin Vinny", where he plays the grit-eating witness.

This movie has a smart and entertaining dialog and a number of unforgettable scenes and jokes. And it even brings out the romantic in an old cynic like me.

Danny Boyle comes up with a charming romantic black comedy. With a fine cast, a fantastic screenplay, a great soundtrack and lots of comedy and some romance, 'A Life Less Ordinary' becomes a not-so-ordinary film. The comedy tracks are very well etched and there are numerous laugh-out-loud moments. However, I also noticed that many people, sadly, did not get most of the jokes. The characters are very unique. After all, where else would you see two cupids committing lots of violence in order to bring two lovers together? Both Holly Hunter and Delroy Lindo are hilarious as the psychotic cupids. The romance track between the freshly paired Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz provides another comedic track. They share a great chemistry making the unusual romance between the fiery Celine and the naive Robert very convincing. There's also a brilliant song sequence in which the two actors display their singing talents and dancing skills. Of course, they are supported by talents like Ian Holm and Stanley Tucci who provide excellent comic relief. Hirakubo's sharp editing and Brian Tufano's superb camera-work give the film a slick edge. But it is, John Hodge's tight screenplay and Danny Boyle's direction that superbly balances it all together. You want to see something entertaining but different, 'A Life Less Ordinary' could be the movie you're looking for. It had me laughing from start to end.