Expecting a romantic comedy, I was pleasantly surprised when "Prime of Your Life" delivered so much more. Elements of drama, comedy, coming-of-age and romance were all there with the typical romantic comedy facets being barely even noticeable. The problem is those lessons, that life or stories about life, including everything from love, to heartbreak, to mortality, to cons, and independence, were expounded to me by a 20-something slacker and it was all a bit too condescending for my liking.
That 20-something slacker is Sandy, a self-described "bitch", who instead of working for a living, uses her looks and attitude to get what she wants. Nobody actually likes that kind of person, so the film had a tough hill to climb by starting out with such an unlikable heroine. Although, interestingly, the film is well written enough that they were able to write good dialogue for Sandy, and at least make her amusing.
After meeting Sandy, we ended up getting something quite impressive for a low-budget, indie. We met Keith. Keith is played by Ryan Donowho, attractive, charming and way more likable than Sandy, despite the fact that he's a con artist. And then we got a plot. A story which I kept expecting to turn into a full-blown romantic comedy but they never quite walked that line. As the story built-up, so did the layers to Keith and Sandy, and so did my interest.
So what's the problem with "Prime of Your Life"? I'm going to say that it was too ambitious. There was a lot of over-acting, loud music for every scene, and then the need to be every genre. I never liked our main character, Sandy, and I certainly didn't appreciate having her give me lessons on what life is all about. I can almost recommend this film because although it will take awhile for the actors to grow on you and Sandy, likely, never will, the story and its structure are pretty much perfect.
