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Alex Sheldon (Luke Wilson), a one-time hit novelist, is suffering from a severe case of
writer's block as he writes his second novel. He struggles to finish the novel to pay his gambling debt to Cuban loan sharks. He is given only 30 days to complete his
novel, so he could collect the money and pay them back; otherwise, Alex's life story will come to an end. But then, apart from his suffering from writer's block, he has
to do the novel without a computer because his debt collectors destroyed it upon realizing all his lies.
Almost out of options, Alex convinces stenographer Emma Dinsmore (Kate Hudson) to quickly translate his thoughts to the written word. The story Alex tells is a 1920s romantic triangle between grade school tutor Adam Shipley (also played by Wilson), the French matriarch Polina (Sophie Marceau) and the family au pair Anna (also played by Hudson). As Alex completes his novel, an almost the same love story blooms between him and Emma.
Alex and Emma is not as impressive as its premise may seem. The story and even the story within the story lack interesting twists and turns. The result is a tedious and dragging flow of narrative that is nothing more than predictable and uninteresting. Which is quite a disappointment because the story started off as exciting as the audience try to weave the real love story from the story on the page. The actors playing dual and even multiple roles appear to be funny at first but the story per se limits its interesting possibilities. Director Rob Reiner fails to develop the characters resulting in a very thin characterization that the audience are not able to feel and make sense of anyone in the film.
Alex's novel talks about the powerlessness of being and falling in love reflected in Adam's
love for Polina, a love that recognizes no reason.
When Anna came into the picture, Adam had a change of heart and a different perspective on love. A love that is nurtured in bonding and constant conversation is stronger and more meaningful than feelings alone. The same is true with Alex until he meets Emma. Although Emma on the other hand is a picture of a strong woman who's almost always more intelligent than her heart, she gave in quite easily to Alex which is quite a contradiction. The three different love stories are all depicted with pre-marital sexual relations that may blur lines between love and sex. The impressionable minds of the young audience may be influenced by such depictions so they should be guided while watching this film that appears to be harmless at the onset.
(Date Reviewed: August 22, 2003)
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