My Review of You Again...
This flick was cute in the previews and delivers even more than it promised in the full-length film.
After years of healing success and maturity post high-school, Marnie aka MOO, finds out that her brother is marrying her nastiest high-school tormentor. With no time to process the information or put on full body armor, Marnie is thrown into the situation just days before the wedding. Joanna, oddly, doesn't even remember Marnie the queen-of-geeks and has gone on to become a perfect blend of Martha Stewart and Mother Teresa. Or maybe not!
Chick-flicky, yes. But its more about friends, enemies and the painful art of growing-up. The movie contains a few cheesy moments and a few underdeveloped relationships because the cast of characters is huge. But, it's respectful of friendship, forgiveness, character and marriage. Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver are delightfully amusing and seem to enjoy every bit of working together in this film. There is a scene at the end of the movie that is hilarious and worth every bit of cheese and I can't say one more thing about it because it would be a big spoiler. The film is clean and would be a terrific pre-teen movie choice.
Comparable movies are Mean Girls, Monster-In-Law, Bride Wars, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and Confessions of a Shopaholic. If you liked any of the above or any of the You Again cast of characters you should enjoy this film. This is one I'll be adding to my DVD collection.
My Review of Life as We Know It...
Hollie and Messer, set-up by best friends Allison and Peter, meet, share a disaster of a non-date and develop an intense hatred for each other. Then Allison and Peter get married and have a baby, forcing Hollie and Messer to be subjected to each other often. Glimpses of Hollie and Messer and their interaction flash on the screen as this relationship that ties them together unfolds. Finally, a laughing moment is shar
ed at Baby Sophie's 1st birthday party where a picture is taken with "Godparents," Hollie and Messer, who don't understand exactly what that term means. Fast forward several weeks and Hollie and Messer meet up at the police station to discover that Allison and Peter have died in a horrific accident and that Sophie needs them. They discover how much as the rest of the story unfolds.
I really liked this film. I watched it with four friends and we all agreed that it was worth the investment. The main characters are three-dimensional and well-cast. Though not laugh out-loud funny in most scenes, there is enough humor thrown in to make the subject matter less intense. Not pure comedy, or drama, also not pure chick flick. Enough deep issues and emotions play out that the movie grabbed my emotions and heart.
A few cheesy moments make their way into the movie...one in particular is a drug thread that ends up falling flat, though it likely supposed to play as a light-hearted moment. There are a group of neighbors that add annoyingly funny moments throughout the film. Language is minimal, the F-Bomb makes few appearances, the most memorable is a whispered fight. Messer is a new-girl-a-night kind of a guy so there are plenty of comments about his tom-catting ways, though the sex scenes are minimal and primarily off-screen. Hollie is an uptight business owner who's rigidity makes for a few annoying minutes throughout the film as well. But overall the relationship between them ends up being respectful of families and love and this one will end up in my DVD library.
