A
film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net
At some point, filmmakers will hopefully realize that it takes more than a cute couple to make an effective love story. Granted, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Julia Stiles are both attractive people, and they combine to form a charismatic couple, but that's about all Down to You has going for it. To be blunt, the storyline is puerile, recycled rubbish that lacks even the slightest semblance of a spark. While it's often true that romantic comedies are somewhat thin in the originality department, serviceable entries manage to fashion likable characters and give us an interest in the pre-ordained outcome. In Down to You the only thing I was cheering for was the approach of the end credits.
The film is designed as a romantic fantasy for pre-teen and young teenage girls, and, as such, is light on dialogue and, at times, intelligibility. It deserves high points for the costume design and the soundtrack, but a movie is in trouble when it puts those things above plot and character development. The film certainly doesn't exhibit broad appeal. At the showing I attended (there were no advance screenings), everyone in the audience except me was white, female, and between the ages of 11 and 14 (approximately). And they all sighed and giggled at the expected places. I didn't. Just call me a grump.
Down to You tells the story of would-be chef Al (Prinze Jr.) and would-be painter Imogen (Stiles), two college students who meet one night at a bar and are instantly attracted to each other. They then go out for three whole months before having sex - an act that they engage in only after they have fallen in love (in accordance with one of the unwritten rules of romantic comedies: sex is the climax of romantic love). The film then takes us through the stages of their relationship: the honeymoon period, the cooling-down stage, and, finally, the infidelity-prompted break-up. Of course, since these two are obviously perfect for each other, we know they're going to get back together in the end.
In order to occasionally confuse the audience and perhaps attempt to camouflage the screenplay's deficiencies, writer/director Kris Isacsson chooses to tell the story in a non-linear fashion, frequently jumping back and forth in time and relying on wardrobe changes and hairstyles to clue in the audience about which phase of the relationship they're watching. It's easy enough with Imogen - she shows a poise in the current scenes that she lacks as a college freshman - but Al doesn't seem to change much.
I'm not sure either of the leads is a good actor, although Stiles shows more promise than Prinze. Both have been allowed to graduate from their former high school roles (he was the male lead in She's All That and she needed taming in 10 Things I Hate About You), but they're still playing to the same audience. That's part of the problem. The screenplay constantly dances around sexual issues without ever confronting any head-on. The reason: the need to get a PG-13 rating. A smarter, sassier script would have done wonders for Down to You's watchability, but it also would have come accompanied by an R rating.
Often in films like this, the supporting characters are more interesting than the leads. Unfortunately, that's not the case here, because Isacsson doesn't care enough to develop them beyond the needs of the threadbare plot. We have Al's best friend, Monk (Zak Orth), a porn star and would-be classical thespian; the sexy Cyrus (Selma Blair, from Cruel Intentions), who has the hots for Al; and the flaky Lana (Rosario Dawson, from Light It Up). Oh, then there's Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence) as the sole member of the local lonely hearts club. Between the four of them, there's youth and good looks aplenty, but almost nothing in the personality department. For us old timers, Henry Winkler and Lucie Arnaz play Al's parents, an Emeril-like TV cook and a radio deejay.
Even when Down to You steals from better movies, it doesn't do it right. Late in the proceedings, there's a scene where Al and Imogen spend the whole night wandering around Central Park, talking. That's the same basic premise as in Before Sunrise, right? In theory, but not in practice. The only part of this night-long excursion that we see is the ending. All of the dialogue is excised, either because the director couldn't come up with anything substantive for his characters to say or because he didn't think his audience would be interested in hearing them say anything substantive. When morning approaches and Imogen sadly announces that she has a flight in two hours, we're supposed to be upset that such a tender scene is about to end. Instead, I found myself thinking that if she didn't hurry up, she was going to miss her plane. In New York City, two hours is cutting things close.
Down To You is filled with all sorts of hokey moments that ruin its attempts to generate a real, romantic atmosphere. On one occasion, Al is dressed up in a costume to appear as an extra in a movie. When his scene is over, he rushes to see Imogen, doffing his clothing along the way and discarding the garments on the sidewalk. This is only one example of the ludicrous excesses present in Down to You. Often, it's the details that encourage us to like or dislike a motion picture, and this one consistently messes them up. Even those craving a sappy romantic comedy are likely to find Down to You lacking a few key ingredients. [Berardinelli’s rating: 1.5 stars out of 4]
Labels: college, comedy, drama, Julia Stiles, romance
IMDb 50/100
MetaScore (critics=13, viewers=54)
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=33, viewers=64)
Blu-ray
One of the 20 worst chick flicks of 1990-2010
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