No Strings Attached

Just in time for your Valentine’s Day viewing pleasure, my review of the new rom-com No Strings Attached.

At the film’s beginning, the lead characters, Adam (Ashton Kutcher) and Emmaa (Natalie Portman), intersect at pivotal moments -- summer camp, college, and as young professionals. Although Kutcher and Portman “click” they never take it to the next level, but pass like ships in the night. When Kutcher’s longtime girlfriend dumps him in favor of his Hollywood actor-father (played by an over-the-top Kevin Kline), a very drunken Kutcher calls every number in his smartphone looking for a bit of female comfort. He reaches Portman who takes pity and allows him to crash on her sofa for the night. Once again sparks fly between the pair, but this time they give into them. Portman, however, doesn’t want a serious relationship, so they become “friends with benefits.” Kutcher is fine with this for awhile, but eventually wants more. A lot of drama follows while Portman decides if she wants more too.

I found Kutcher and Portman to be individually appealing and attractive, but together lacked chemistry. Perhaps, this was due to their height difference (think Abraham Lincoln to Mary Todd Lincoln) or maybe because I never understood why Portman didn’t want a real relationship. At one point Portman’s widowed mother (Talia Balsam – Random factoid: in real life she was once Mrs. George Clooney (and according to Clooney will be the only woman to hold that title)) tells Portman that she doesn’t have to “be strong” for her anymore. But I never really bought this as it had been many years since Portman’s father had died and she didn’t even live in the same town as her mother, so why the need for the stiff upper lip?

Still I loved the supporting cast in No Strings Attached, especially Kline as the aging, but harmless lothario and Portman’s roommate Shira (played by Mindy Kaling). In fact, Kline and Kaling stole every scene they were in -- with laughs or in Kline’s case an occasional tug of the heart strings.

No Strings Attached is a breezy date flick with solid laughs thanks to Kline and Kaling.

Little Fockers

Recently, a dear friend and I were trying to decide on a movie to see. I suggested The King’s Speech as I’ve heard glowing raves from everyone who’s seen it, but dear friend wanted to see something a little lighter. We settled on Little Fockers.

Little Fockers is the latest installment in the Ben Stiller – Robert De Niro comedy franchise. In the series, Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) plays the hapless son-in-law, to Robert De Niro’s Jack Brynes, aka the “father-in-law” from hell. In Little Fockers, after suffering a mild heart attack, Byrnes, the controlling patriarch extraordinaire, asks Greg to be the “God-focker” (leader) of the Brynes-Focker clan. Being the “God-focker” entails Greg doing his best imitation of his crazy father-in-law. However, Greg is still a Focker and all of his attempts to lead the family ala Jack Brynes are, of course, utter failures.

The plot is totally predictable, especially if one is familiar with the previous installments. Originality, however, is not what has powered this franchise. Rather it is grounded in the hilarious over-the-top conflict between Stiller and De Niro. And they don’t disappoint! The laughs were frequent and often. Also on hand to add to the laughs were: Owen Wilson (as Pam Brynes Fockers’ still smitten ex-boyfriend); Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman (as Greg Fockers’ eccentric hippie parents) and Jessica Alba (as a romantic temptation for Greg).

Little Fockers served as a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Recently, I watched the classic movie Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time. It was always one of those movies that I had been on my "to watch" list, but I had never gotten around to. A few days ago on a whim, I crossed it off my list.

Breakfast at Tiffany's is classic that appealed to me on one level, but left me cold on another. My loves included the rapturous Mancini score (the wistful Moon River is beautiful and memorable -- I'm still humming it!); the iconic clothes (Hepburn was the original Sex and the City woman!); and Hepburn's performance was flawless (the above picture is from the opening scene in which a solitary Hepburn nibbles a bun, in the rooster crowing hours, while longingly gazing into Tiffany's -- no words were spoken, but the emotions resonated loud and clear)!

The plot, however, never really hooked me. Briefly, the story centers around "party girl" Holly Golightly's (Hepburn's character) secret past and present romance with "kept" neighbor George Peppard. I'm wondering if the Capote story lost something in its translation to the silver screen? I also found the chemistry between Hepburn and love interest Peppard lacking. Lastly, the scenes involving Mickey Rooney's impersonation of Hepburn's upstairs Japanese neighbor were offensive (although I gave the film a pass on this point due to its age).

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a movie with spectacular parts that are stonger than its sum.