Abaixo o Amor

In my mind a good parody is always also an homage to its source material. Instead of just pointing, mocking and laughing, it respects its predecessors and while it gently pokes fun at their mistakes and general silliness, it also pays tribute to their strong points. And that's this film. It's both a parody and a love letter to those romantic comedies of the mid-century Hollywood where men and women had clearly defined roles, every background was painted, the cars were driven by madly spinning the wheel from one side to the other even though the road was perfectly straight and every single line was delivered with a suave and cocky grin on one's face.

And as far as parodies or even movies in general go, this isn't a bad example. It has a very strong visual style, with bright, colourful sets, which feel very nostalgic, great score, clever if a bit dirty sense of humour, especially when it comes to visual humour, and a good cast of actors. Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor especially were very good in their roles and they had good chemistry together. McGregor in particular was prefect for the role of Catcher Block, a suave ladies man, who simply oozes self-confidence and charisma.

I had no complaints about the story either, though it wasn't the film's strongest point. It's clever and witty most of the time and the scenes flow smoothly from one to another, but it had perhaps one twist too many for me to fully enjoy it. I wouldn't call it needlessly complicated, but it's not far.

In the end I have to admit that I had a blast watching this film. It's more about the experience and the individual scenes than it is about the story, but in this case it's not a bad thing. If you're looking for a movie with great sense of humour, enjoyable characters, witty dialogues and bright colour scheme, this is definitely your film.

Well, 'Down With Love' turned out to be a unexpectedly pleasant surprise. Love many of the late 50s and 60s sex romantic comedies, 'Pillow Talk' being a primary example, and can't get enough of those with Doris Day and Rock Hudson which this film clearly was paying homage to. There was the worry though as to whether 'Down With Love' would be just another heavily predictable film with forced comedy moments, no romantic chemistry and no charm with talented casts wasted.

Luckily, 'Down With Love' on the most part was not one of those films. It is a satire and celebration of the sex romantic comedies from the late 50s and in particular the 60s, being set in 1962, and mostly does a really good job, capturing the fun, kitsch, charm, froth and affectionate nostalgia of the period and the films with incredibly impressive results. Is it as good as the films it's satirising and celebrating? No. Are the two leads and their chemistry on the same level as Day and Hudson or even Day and James Garner? Not in a million years, but this is a tall order with not many actors and actresses today having the same amount of appeal and that special one of a kind chemistry that those stars had.

'Down With Love' is not perfect. It is easy to dismiss the story as being slight and predictable, and it is. One does have to bear in mind though that the story was not exactly the strong suit in the sex romantic comedies of the late 50s and 60s, it was the production values, the stars, the supporting cast, the writing (on the most part) and the chemistry between the stars that elevated those films to a greater level.

Mostly the script is fine, but it is not without its clunkers. Especially that homosexual accusation, that was cringe-worthy, completely out of place and if it was made in either of the decades that are being satirised and celebrated it would have been anachronistic and would have been anachronistic in its 1962 setting. A few of the more twisty moments were too obvious and didn't serve much point and it occasionally affected the pacing. It was nice to see Tony Randall again, but he really deserved much better than a pointless cameo that gave him nothing to do, he might as well have not been in the film at all.

However, 'Down With Love' looks great and replicates the look of the late 50s and 60s perfectly, the glorious Technicolor, the super stylish photography, the colourful sets, the kitschy décor, sumptuous costuming, the CinemaScope logo. The split screen was clever in one scene. There are artificial painted backdrops and cheap back projection, but this was perfect and appropriate considering what the film is doing. The soundtrack is infectious and affectionate and the direction is controlled and super slick.

Apart from the odd clunker, the script is clever and witty while also being endearingly frothy. The characters lack depth but are not too shallow or annoying thanks to the charm of the cast. The story isn't perfect, but is mainly fun, charming and captures the spirit of the period and films it's satirising and celebrating perfectly and with clear affection.

Renee Zellwegger gives a sprightly and likable lead performance and is well matched by a charming, understated and carefree Ewan McGregor in the other lead role. Their chemistry is nicely done, to me it was there but subtle. It may not have been Day and Hudson but that is incredibly daunting for anybody since to replicate. David Hyde Pierce steals the film, looking like he is having the most fun, he certainly has the most energy. Sarah Poulson is amusingly wise-cracking and charming, if occasionally a little too tongue-in-cheek.

Overall, an unexpected pleasant surprise if not perfect. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Barbara (Renee Zellweger) has just written a book called Down With Love. She leaves Maine and lands in New York City, where her book is about to hit the shelves. Unfortunately, the male executives at her publishing house have doubts about the new tome and are not forking over any marketing money. The lone woman at Banner publishing, Vicki, takes Barbara under her wing and they work to get the nonfiction title some fame. First, they decide to ask Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), a prominent male writer for Know magazine, to do a cover story for the book. He postpones the interview again and again. In the meantime, Vicki and Barbara get the book mentioned on the Ed Sullivan show. Soon, copies of DWL are flying out of the bookstores, mainly because the book empowers women to think more about themselves and less about attracting a man. Catcher spies a picture of Barbara in a bookstore window and knows he has to meet her. However, since he is a notorious ladies man, he assumes the identity of an astronaut named Zip Martin. Naturally, he plays the perfect gentleman when he begins to take Barbara out on the town. How long will it be until Barbara discovers the truth? And, will she have fallen for the guy first? Romantic comedy fans everywhere should love this film. It is a takeoff of the old Doris and Rock movies that are so delightfully fun and full of clean mischief. Zellweger and McGregor are a joy in their roles as the smitten couple. The rest of the cast, including a cameo by Tony Randall, are great, too. The look of the film is nice, as are the costumes and the Big Apple setting. If you love crazy, contrived, comic love tales, get this one tonight. You will bask in its take-me-out-of-my-blues delivery.

DWL didn't do to well at the box office. I guess it must have been due to a poor advertizing campaign. After finally seeing it, I though it was pretty good. It's sort of like a battle of the sexes. Barbara Novak pretends to be a man hating woman who doesn't need love while Catcher Block is a womanizer out to prove he can get the DWL girl(Novak) to fall in love. So along the way, we get funny situations, like Catch pretending to be Zip and many over heard conversations that seem to be about something else, ie... the secretary overhearing the sock discussion. And an unusually scene using split screens with Barbara and Catch talking on the phone. She's below and he's on top doing pushups. At the end they smoke. Cute idea.

The 2 supporting characters, Vikki and Peter, were good. Plus we get a surprise twist toward the end involving Barbara, which I never saw coming.

FINAL VERDICT: Cute and funny. It's different than your average romantic comedy. So if you like romantic comedies, I recommend this one.

I saw this more as an experiment, a chance to pay homage to a time and place in movie-making. I was also reminded of "Breakfast at Tiffanys" a tad in its glamorization of that Jackie Kennedy/Audrey Hepburn period of high ladies fashion. It was sort of a 50's lag, a last vestige of the classy old styles before the hip/hippie modern era would sweep them away forever. Call it the end of elegance, if you will.

On the other hand, it was the end of an era for the more innocent screwball comedies/romances as well. Movies changed just as abruptly, and got just as down to earth in its realism as the fashions. So, we are seeing here a double homage, to the fashions, and the more lighthearted tenor of movies, in the 50's/early 60's.

The movie did well in the plot/story/jokes department. It was a tightrope, because if they got TOO risqué or hip, it would take away from the tenor and point of the whole retro/throwback thing. In that case, it inevitably would come across in some ways as a retread and stock, but that was the price paid for doing this. There simply was not much room to work with in any sense per plot development, and tongue-in-cheek can only go so far without betraying homage to the old school of doing things. With the aforementioned built-in restrictions, I think that Payton Reed did a pretty darn good job here! Well worth seeing, and a must-see for those who love retro fashions and movies.