A Lot Like Love (* *)

So Brooke and her friend Molly have been wanting to see a "chick flick" for a while, so Kenny (Molly's Husband) and I sucked it up and went to see A Lot Like Love with them. It wasn't your typical chick flick, which was nice. It was a little bit of a different take on things so I am going to give it 2 stars, because it was ok.
First of all a disclaimer; I am not one that enjoys romantic comedy's, but I am not one of those guys who only likes war or action movies either. Honestly I feel like I enjoy a wide variety of films, but because I have seen a lot of good films, I tend to have high expectations. I have a difficult time judging romantic comedy's, therefore as you read my review know that there is a personal bias. I don't hate all romantic comedy's, but let's just say they need to be very good in order for me to like them. In my opinion it doesn't come down to a Men vs. Women situation either, I just think that in general they aren't well made films. Does that mean they don't have their place in cinema? No, of course not, just because in my opinion they aren't good doesn't mean there isn't a market for them. Obviously nobody is expecting a movie like this to take home Best Picture or anything like that, I am sure the film makers aren't even expecting those types of results. Personally I don't mind seeing a few of them on occasion, but after a while the stories tend to be too similar and I just can't watch the same love story over and over with different actors. Maybe I just need to lighten up and enjoy the movie, but it's not like me to do that, I watch movies because I enjoy getting into the details. With that said, let's get on with the movie itself.
Be aware, if you haven't seen this film I will spoil the ending, although you can probably predict it from the trailers alone.
The film is centered around 2 characters, Ashton Kutcher as Oliver Martin and Amanda Peet as Emily Friehl. The two meet on a plane when they are both traveling to New York, let's just say that after the flight is over they are both officially members of the "mile high club". After a brief romance in New York they each go their separate ways. They part with a promise that Emily will call Oliver's parents house in 6 years to make sure he isn't living there anymore and has gone along with his plan for the future. She ends up calling him early because she is desperate for a New Years Date after a bad breakup. So he comes over and from this point the film is very repetitive, she calls him and they hook up, he calls her and they hook up. This cycle pretty much continues as the film progresses, however each time they get together they learn more and more about each other and each of them seem to fall more and more in love with the other. Despite each of them being in committed relationships with others, they tend to fall back on each other with a sort of "rebound" situation. Toward the end of the film they both have strong feelings for each other and depend on each other emotionally. As you might have guessed in the end they do end up together. And like most romantic comedy's there is a wedding at the end, I just won't tell you who gets married.
The story itself isn't so bad, in fact it's a little refreshing compared to the usual "boy meets girl, the couple has conflict, the couple gets together in the end" type of romantic comedy. For that I give the movie credit, but there are other points that I didn't like. Such as, I know that people do stupid things when they are in love, but the amount of childish behavior that exists between the characters might make you think they were still in Jr. High. I cite the examples of a "quiet game" situation to see who can go without talking, also a spitting on each other scene and of course sticking things up their noses to make each other laugh. Some people might find these actions endearing, but I just felt like it was annoying. I mean Amanda Peet herself is over 30 and Ashton Kutcher is rapidly approaching 30 himself, when you see them on screen you don't see teenagers or kids in love, you see adults that should be acting like it. I do like Ashton Kutcher and I did find myself laughing through several of the scenes in the movie, but it just wasn't enough to leave a lasting impression. I mean the best scene in the movie was when Amanda Peet's character slams into a glass door.
There was a small thematic element of the movie that was good, but just wasn't driven home enough. Oliver happens to have a deaf older brother (Graham), they seem to be close and there are some funny scenes revolving around the two of them and sign language. Graham has completed college, married, and has a child; he has gone and lived his life where Olver has pretty much just waited for life to happen to him. Oliver is trying to start up his dot com diaper business and as he says "get is ducks in a line" before he settles down. There is really only one scene where the theme is emphasized or else you really would have never picked up on it. Oliver and Graham are sitting on the beach discussing the dot com business going under and watching as Grahams son plays in the sand. Graham tells Oliver to live his life, that it is the here and now and there is no use waiting for something to happen, he has to make it happen. It is a good theme and should have just been emphasized more, but it just isn't.
The Bottom Line... Despite my bias against this genre, the film was ok. I do think Ashton Kutcher was funny and Amanda Peet isn't so bad to look at on the big screen. However, the film was tainted with a lot of childish behavior, a repetitive story line and the comedy that exists is forgettable. Brooke gives the movie 3 stars, she thought it was pretty good and asked that I not be too hard on it. When asked what she liked about the film, she said it was cute, and Molly agreed with her. However, cute, just isn't enough for me. Kenny declined to comment. If you like romantic comedy's, you will probably like this movie. Both of the girls agreed that Ashton Kutcher is cute and that made them like the movie, but if you want to see him on screen go see something good like The Butterfly Effect. If you are like me and you expect more from your films, you won't hate this movie but you probably won't really like it either. If you are still part of the "dating scene" this could turn out to be a good date movie for you, your date will like it and you won't be bored out of your mind. The movie is rated PG-13 and there is a small amount of nudity, although any scenes with male butt for me is too much.