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Rated: |
Review: 
I really enjoyed this movie. I got it from NetFlix after seeing a preview for it on some other DVD. I hadn’t heard of it before and didn’t have any expectations. It was very enjoyable for a light comedy. Gray is an adorable character and Heather Graham really did a great job bringing her to life. There were some unrealistic bits of dialog that I thought could have been done better; for example the initial conversation between Gray and Charlie in the dog park was poorly written in my opinion. Gray babbles out a string of questions without letting Charlie answer any of them but it isn’t done in a way that comes across as natural or even plausible. Because it is awkwardly written (aside from the intended awkwardness of the scene) there really wasn’t a way for Heather Graham to deliver the lines believably.
The entire movie is unrealistic just because of the nature of the story, but with the exception of those few bits of bad dialog I was able for the most part to suspend my disbelief and go along for the ride. I think the movie intentionally sets itself up as unrealistic and plays up the theme of “that wouldn’t really happen” so fully that it gets away with it. If it had been more realistic, I don’t think it would have worked nearly as well. These rules are set very early on in the movie. In fact, it’s in the very scene that I was mentioning as having the bad dialog that it draws its line in the sand for level of fantasy: when Charlie answers Gray’s questions, her answers are pretty much a checklist of exactly what Sam had just said he was looking for in a girl.
The movie always takes the coincidences one step further than you think you’re willing to believe—for example, not only does Charlie love the same movie that Gray does, but they both have the Fred and Ginger dance routine memorized. It is by going to these extremes that it allows you to let go of analyzing the plausibility of any specific events and just accept and enjoy them.
The interaction between the characters is great and is what really made the movie what it was. I really felt like these people enjoy being together. The Scottish cabbie played by Alan Cumming is so charming and sweet—I really want to have a friend like him. When Gray and Charlie are being silly together the warmth and fun energy really shines. I almost cried at the scene where Gray comes out as gay to her brother. The look on his face was so genuine and her relief that he accepted her was so touching.
This is definitely not a movie full of surprises or anything. It does follow a pretty tried-and-true path in its storytelling and I think it’s pretty easy to guess what is going to happen next for most of the film, but sometimes that comfort zone can be nice. It manages to be predictable without being boring as a result. There was one thing in the movie that really bothered me, though. In the scene where they are trying on wedding dresses, they make a point of showing Gray and Charlie drinking something from paper cups a number of times. It is an obvious setup for spilling something on one of the dresses, so when Gray tries on the dress that is “only $10,000” you pretty much assume that’s what is going to happen, and it does. The problem I had with it is that they never resolved the situation. You never see whether they hid the dress and snuck out to not get caught, or if they had it cleaned, or if they had to pay for it or anything… it’s simply played for the laugh and then ignored with no consequences.
I have read some very harsh reviews of this movie but they mostly seem to center on the implausibility theme. If you can get past that and treat the movie as the fairy tale that it is I think the movie is a lot of fun. It’s definitely a feel-good movie that leaves you happy at the end.
— 01:39:40 PM
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