Not since 2001‘s "What’s The Worst That Could Happen?" has a movie title so accurately described itself as a film. I was really on the fence about this. Should I see this movie? Should I not see this movie? Will I enjoy it? Will I hate it? I really had no idea. What a DILEMMA!
…Sorry.
But now, without any hesitation, I am proud to present my genuine take on "The Dilemma." I give this movie an astonishing, resounding, and thunderous…. “Meh.”
The story is very easy to pick up, and you probably understood it immediately in the trailer if you've seen it. Vince Vaughn and Kevin James play best friends. Kevin James’s character Nick is happily married to Geneva played by Winona Ryder. And Vince Vaughn’s character, Ronny is a confirmed bachelor who seems to have found his true love in his girlfriend, Beth played by Jennifer Connelly. Then one day Ronny sees Geneva cheating on Nick—just as he and Nick are preparing a major work presentation. He wants to tell Nick that his wife is being unfaithful, but he doesn’t want to risk the news affecting Nick’s work on the presentation, so he goes behind everyone’s collective back and tries to sort out all of their little secrets leading from one unlikely situation to the next and hilarity ensues. Except there’s just one problem: hilarity doesn’t ensue.
This movie is about 2 hours long, and it feels like it’s …about 2 hours long. As Ronny untangles the twisted web of lies woven by he and his friends, you laugh. Then you wait for what feels like 10 minutes, then he finds out something new and cruelly hilarious. So you chuckle, and you’re left to wait again for something else to happen. Award-winning director and former Cunningham Ron Howard seems to do the best he can with what he’s given, but I can’t help but feel that this script could have simply used a few more drafts.
At its core, "The Dilemma" is a poorly written movie with a cast that’s firing on all cylinders. The bromance between Kevin James and Vince Vaughn is there. I’ve never been a huge fan of Winona Ryder and even she delivers in this movie. And Jennifer Connelly—wow. You could make a "Rocketeer 2" tomorrow and it would be like no time had passed! (Disney, please read this and make "Rocketeer 2" tomorrow. I’ll write it for free. Seriously. I mean come on. "Tron"? "Tron" gets a sequel? Really? "Tron"?!) ANYWAY—perhaps most shocking— Fred Claus himself, Vince Vaughn does very well in this movie. I don’t want to make a big deal out of this because believe it or not, I really like Vince Vaughn. I liked him in "Swingers." I liked him in "Dodgeball." And Vaughn’s performance in this movie almost wipes away the stain of "Fred Claus."
…Almost.
The bottom line is: A good cast and a collection of random funny moments just don't do much to fix what's already broken. There are a lot worse ways to spend two hours. But if you can wait, I’d suggest renting this one.
No comments:
Post a Comment