L'amour malgré tout

The fact that such a likable collection of actors and actresses is assembled should indicate this movie is worth a watch.

Although the story isn't ground breaking it's not irritating and doesn't lose steam. It's a story about a writer (Kinnear) and his family and their romantic and family relationships.

The daughter is played by Lily Collins who is very pretty and acts well. The still very beautiful Jennifer Connelly looks like she could be her mother in real life with their dark hair and thick eyebrows - good casting. Wish she would act more these days. Greg Kinnear is quite writer like with his beard but he looks a little too scruffy. Nat Wolff as the son is a bit dorky looking for such an attractive family. Liana Liberato is a bit irritating as the druggie girlfriend though. Patrick Schwarzenegger has a small role as a jerk boyfriend of Liana. Logan Lerman play's Lily's sweet boyfriend.

Everyone is kind of nice and sweet even when they aren't being nice and it's refreshing to see a movie with nice people and a watchable cast.

I will be short and sweet (kind of like the film was) and won't go into a summary as the rest of the well-written and accurate summaries have been thus far. I thought this film was really good. The casting was great, as was the plot and story line. It was a touching story, where despite the indiscretions of a married couple, you had them rooting for each other to find their way back to each other and to bring their family together.

The movie went fast and even though you hoped for a happy ending, you weren't quite sure how it was going to turn out. I won't spoil it, but the ride to the end was worth it. It is a cute, summer drama that is worth checking out.

Because if this is anything it's a fantasy by writers about writers for people who think they want to be writers. Everyone is brilliant I insightful charming warm caring and infinitely forgiving of the people who screw them over the hardest. They even tend to the sick and have hot chocolate with the black maid. Except for the Lilly Collins character. She's a narcissistic bully trying to be Diablo Cody age 20 going on 55 trying to be 17. Everyone totally gets and loves everyone. Girls will sleep with you before the first date. Anyone under the age of 25 instantly knows every social and pop reference including all literature for the past half century. And I don't know what smartphones they have but they sound better than my home theater. Ms. Bell steals the show with her smart funny role but her character is sadly not realistic with the nearly 20 year difference of her "buddy". Kinnear plays to type: depressed. Ms Connelly also plays to type; angry needy clingy yet bossy and passive aggressive. But the takeaway is that if you want to be a published novelist with your first and only book all you need is to be smart and sassy.

"A writer is the sum of their experiences. Go get some." William Borgens (Kinnear) is a famous and best selling author who hasn't written anything since his wife left him three years ago. He is raising his two children who are also trying to become published. While his children are trying to figure their lives out William is stuck between trying to move on with his love life or keep waiting for his ex to return. This is a movie that I had high expectations for basically because I really like Greg Kinnear. This movie is very much like Crazy Stupid Love in tone so if you like that movie you will like this one as well. The acting in this is great as would be expected and this is a very real life type movie. Everyone in this is flawed but nothing to outrageous or unbelievable. That fact alone made the movie seem real and grounded. There really isn't much I can say without giving things away but I do recommend this and I did like it a lot. Overall, fans of Crazy Stupid Love will really like this. I give it a B.

Bill Borgens (Greg Kinnear) is an acclaimed author who still pines for his ex-wife Erica (Jennifer Connelly) who left him for another man. He has casual sex with Tricia (Kristen Bell). He pushes his kids to write. His daughter Samantha (Lily Collins) is publishing a book. She insists on avoiding true love until Louis (Logan Lerman) won't let her be. His son Rusty (Nat Wolff) falls for Kate (Liana Liberato) who has a drug problem and a boyfriend problem.

Everybody has their own storyline. Writer/director Josh Boone needs to decide what the movie should concentrate on. It's obvious that the mother is the key to the whole movie. Everybody should concentrate on that like a laser. With the mother being a central point, Connelly doesn't have enough screen time.

Lily Collins' story feels manufactured. The dialogue feels fake. I know it's fiction but it feels very writery. Her relationship with her mother lacks authenticity and Logan Lerman's mother is too symmetrical.

The father's story lacks heat. It does get to a good place but the Kristen Bell part doesn't have any tension. Their relationship has no danger and has no stakes. He is better alone waiting for his ex-wife. At least that has poetry. Instead of Bell's character, the story should develop more with his ex-wife's new husband.

The son's story has a couple of good scenes. It's essentially a coming-of-age story that could exist in any number of movies. While I love some of his turns, it has no direct connections to the mother. If this movie is about him, it would make some sense but this feels like a distraction.

Overall the movie feels too made-up. There are some good parts and some good scenes. I'm glad Josh Boone made a friend with Stephen King. He's obvious a fan and he's got a couple of movies from King material coming up.