Save the Date

I had high expectations for a comedy starring Alison Brie and Lizzy Caplan and boy was I let down.

Save the Date is a basic romantic comedy, 2 sisters with different views on relationships, love, sex and marriage. 3 guys. Angst, drama, bad puns and ridiculously predictable plot lines.

Is this a bad film? No. Is it in any way, shape or form worth a recommendation? No. I can't even think of more things to write about the movie because it was such a generic film. If you love one of the actors involved - go on, watch it - but if you want to see a good (romantic) comedy there are a thousand other, better choices.

This look in on those Young Adult Singles with prolonged Teen attitudes with a free Spirit seems, Today, dated and worn out. These Angst Driven Counter Culture Movies and Comics were all the rage, back then. Ghost World (2001), was one of the best. But this is no Ghost World. It is a prefabricated and phony "insight" into the narcissistic World of self involved dullard's who pretend they have something to say, through Art.

The Truth is, these People and their Art are neither profound or engaging. The Band screams...Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Baaaaby(that's all the lyrics). That might have been Cool when the Virbrators did it in the late 70's. She of lead Character Status, is an "Artist". Her Drawings make most Underground Comics look simply sublime.

In fact, all the Characters in this shallow swill are unlikeable and for that matter barely seem real. They are not even interesting Caricatures. Things move along with the Romance part of this Rom-Com that isn't much more than at best voyeuristic-ally cringe worthy or just plain unattractive. The Com part of this Rom-Com comes, and don't hold your breath, through uncomfortable situations and ridiculous telegraphed set-ups (packing dirty dishes because Her new place has a dishwasher). How rebellious.

That's about as anti-establishment as this thing gets as it also takes swipes at conventional things like traditional relationships and Weddings, but it all seems so fake and forced that this turns into a by the numbers exercise purposely, predictably, and painfully going outside the lines.

This film achieves one thing very well; it is an expose on narcissism while being completely unaware of it. It's so ironic it's good and awful at the same time. The only likable character in the entire movie is Andrew, Beth's fiancée, and his role is quite marginal. The rest of the characters are completely self involved and overly dramatic. The heroine, whom I'm sure was meant to be endearing and enthralling, but is neither, is an "artist" who is evidently inspired by the most important thing in her life; herself. Every work of art she creates is a rendition of some "monumental" moment in her life. I hated this movie because of each characters' self aggrandizement but I loved this movie because I believe it is a pretty accurate depiction of the prolonged adolescent youths of modern day LA. It would be one thing to overtly address/discuss the narcissistic tendencies of each character but some of the "message," which is so so subtle would have been lost. If the movie had acknowledged the blatant theme of narcissism I may have had more sympathy for the characters (which I would prefer to do when watching a film) but it was never acknowledged, it was presented as acceptable, normal, even admirable behaviour and for that reason I couldn't stand any of the characters. No punchline was funny, no pain was potent, no fear, disappointment or happiness was empathetic. They were all just unlike-able people. I'm sure it was never the intention of the director, writer or actors to name and identify the overriding theme of the film. They were all, most likely, completely oblivious to the subject matter of the film and that's what makes it so perfect. If they knew what they were doing I give them major props for being so true to the nature of narcissism and hiding the theme so plainly in sight. Besides enjoying the unintentional subject matter this movie was terrible, boring, bromidic and cliché.

Though I can't deny that the film's storyline is overly clichéd and hence predictable as the story goes, I still stand by the reassuring assumption that Save the Date is one of the year's most watchable independent romantic comedies. While the film tries too hard to be fresh – and ultimately fails – it promises a perfectly laughable and heartfelt experience, making a good use of the catchy soundtrack and its cast of many promising indie-regulars. After a short conversation with Michael Mahan (during the American Film Festival in Wroclaw), the director of this picture, I rest assured that Save the Date aspires to be mostly an enjoyable and entertaining comedy and that's its unquestionable strength.

Saying that the story exemplifies a real-life one would be perhaps an overstatement, but admitting that the viewers can identify with the characters and the issues that they need to cope with would definitely be all right.

There is romance, sex, marriage, and pregnancy; there are break ups, fights, rock concerts, dances, and parties. Ironically so, the film doesn't seem dull even though it is a mash-up of all those things.

What's more, as corny as it may sound, Save the Date illustrates everything that the word 'indie' brings to mind these days: indie music, indie actors, indie dialogues (words like 'like', 'awesome', 'cool', 'dude' – you know what I mean), indie vibe even.

Save the Date is definitely not a movie for everyone. It's more of an evening-on-the-couch type of thing than a real deal, but still I would recommend it to everyone who is in need of a light-hearted kind of entertainment. Also, admirers of Lizzie Caplan will observe how she – once again – shows her true potential, gradually turning into a rom-com favorite.

You don't really have to Save the Date as it isn't really worth watching. Lizzy Caplan (Cloverfield, Bachelorette) stars as indecisive Sarah, who runs from her long-term relationship with a musician (Geoffrey Arend - 500 Days of Summer, Devil) when he decides to propose to her during the encore of one of his concerts. Sarah's sister Beth (Alison Brie - "Community", "Mad Men") is getting married and while she loves her sister they don't always get along (and Sarah NEVER takes her advice). We get an hour and a half of this as Sarah starts a new relationship with Jonathan (Mark Webber - For a Good Time Call, Scott Pilgrim vs the World) but then begins to question that too when he turns out to be "too good".

This is another tale of a thirtysomething struggling to figure things out ... and this could become a brand new sub-genre of drama. Save the Date doesn't really give an audience anything new to enjoy or appreciate cinematically ... we are just getting another version of this oft-told experience/story. As this one never rises above what we have already seen, it isn't anything to recommend (unless you really like Caplan of course ... whom I wish would get the perfect role someday -- and this isn't it!).

Thanks for asking us to Save the Date, but I will regrettably decline as there is surely something more interesting to watch.