|
Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) and Emily (Amanda Peet) meet on a cross country flight to New York.
She caught his attention at the pre-departure area as she was being dumped by her boyfriend. Minutes later, at the gate, their eyes meet—and lock. Airborne, Oliver
washes up in the lavatory when someone knocks on the door. He opens it to find Emily outside, determined to get inside the lavatory with him. Minutes later they go
back to their respective seats without even knowing each other's names—she looking triumphant, he with a stupid grin on his face, prompting the flight attendant to ask "Are you
all right?" More minutes later they bump into each other again, on the New York subway this time, and begin what sounds like a getting-to-know-you dialogue. He expects
her to be more yielding—after the lavatory episode—but she tells him he's not his type. They again bump into each other in the afternoon, share pitchers of beer and some
shallow talk
A lot like love is aptly titled as it comes across as a clone of a love story. It plays on the opposites-attract theory: an impulsive girl who lives only for the present, and a boy who's got his future mapped out. The plot is predictable and the acting, bland. Oliver and Emily wander in and out of each other's lives through the years, so much of the story should have been carried by good dialogue, but sadly, the conversations are mostly trivial and uninteresting. One can't help recalling the movie
Before Sunset (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphi) which is practically all talking but which can keep the viewer hanging on for more.
You won't miss anything by not watching A lot like love whose main message, it seems, is
that love involves taking chances. It's a tell-it-like-it-is movie that makes no attempts at driving home moral lessons or even providing sound guides for young adult
viewers. Sex is treated too casually (sex in the airplane lavatory, though not shown, leaves much for the imagination), and there are several sexual encounters here but it
offers nothing in terms of real values for the viewer to chew on. Sitting through the movie waiting for the one redeeming moment that will tell you it was worth watching,
the viewer could end up walking out midway from boredom or falling asleep through to the ending. The saddest thing is, the viewer could be thankful it has ended, yet not
care a hoot what happened to Oliver and Emily.
(Date Reviewed: 3 June 2005)
|
