Perhaps I was overcompensating for the unfortunate Deer Hunter experience, but my normally superior movie picking skills have failed me recently. First it was Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl - sounds like a dream cast, right? Well, that's what I thought too. And so, I settled in with wine, Luke and pack of black dogs prepared to be entertained (I require nothing more of my movies). No such luck. Total stinker. I can't remember the name of the movie and, honestly, it's probably for the best I would hate for anyone else to have to suffer that 90 minutes of disappointment. Just know this, the premise of the movie is that Ashton Kutcher is a high powered covert CIA operative living in the burbs. Ready for the crazy twist?? All of the seemingly docile and boring neighbors were blood-thirst assassins out to get him and his lovely (pregnant) wife, Katherine Heigl. Major let down.Next up, the Back Up Plan with J.Lo. I have seen many of J.Lo's films and typically they are just my speed. Maid in Manhattan? lovely. The Wedding Planner? A delight. The Back Up Plan? TOTAL dud. A mash up of about 7 other, better, rom coms. The lone bright spot in this movie was a cameo by Cesar Milan. But, alas, the dog whisperer was not enough to redeem this movie.
At this point, I know many movie goers would be running to the comfort of some critically acclaimed indie film. Well, you can keep your King's Speech and your Black Swan, I am not so easily deterred. Last night I was ready to give Ashton another shot and give Natalie a chance to erase that Black Swan blemish from her resume and No Strings Attached exceeded expectations in every category.
My good buddy A.O Scott had this to say: “No Strings Attached,” directed by Ivan Reitman from a script by Elizabeth Meriwether, is not entirely terrible. Once again, Mr. Scott has missed the mark. As far as rom coms go, this is Oscar material. Seriously, the cast was stellar, the writing clever, the plot quick, the stars very easy on the eyes, and the ending happy. 5 stars - a must see.
