I saw the trailer to this movie once a week ago and I thought it seemed like a fun comedy film. When it finally premiered yesterday, my wife and I immediately purchased two tickets for the 6.25PM show. It was quite fortunate that the film also played in the cinema near to our home as I was not really in the mood to go too far on that day. Well what was the movie all about? Let us find out below.
Brief Story Line
A smart and idealist journalist named Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen - Kungfu Panda trilogy, Knocked Up etc) went to a party with his best friend Lance (O'Shea Jackson Jr. - Den of Thieves etc) when he met with the woman he adored since adolescent years, the US Secretary of State Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron - Atomic Blonde, North Country etc).
As they rekindled their past, it was apparent that Fred was still in love with Charlotte, but it would be really difficult for him to be together due to her position. Charlotte's key staff Maggie (June Diane Raphael - Grace and Frankie TV series etc) was really worried about the prospect of them being together which might hurt Charlotte's political ambition. To further complicate things, there was also the challenge she had to face from shady business person Parker (Andy Serkis - Star Wars: The Last Jedi etc).
With so many things seemed to be going against him, could Fred be together with the love of his life? Find them all in this interesting and fun rom-com movie.
End of Brief Story Line
So this was a movie that focused on the interesting and unlikely love story between an ordinary idealist guy with a woman really out of his league. It was something that usually we love because we always root for the underdogs, the ones we feel never got their break. And this one was no exception. Even from the start, we could see how different and how far off Fred was with Charlotte. One did not care for his physical appearance with poor career position while the other was the complete opposite and one of the most powerful woman in US.
This movie had the common ingredients as other rom-com type like the best friend in the form of the ever supportive Lance who I thought was portrayed quite nicely by O'Shea Jackson Jr. There was also the various challenges Fred had to face from the people surrounding Charlotte as well as their own conditions. What I loved about this movie was definitely Fred's character as he was so idealist and made a lot of funny remarks, plus his incompatibility with Charlotte. I thought they also had some nice romantic moments. Funnily enough though, there were times that I had a sense the chemistry was not extra convincing, not sure why but perhaps it was because Charlotte's character was too serious. Luckily there were one or two scenes which showed her different side.
As a movie dubbed to be the opposite side of Pretty Woman, I thought there were minor similarities like the huge difference of the two persons involved, and the unlikely chance for them to be together. There was even the song It Must Have Been Love from Roxette (which was used as the soundtrack to that hugely successful movie). However, despite some nice moments and a nice enough ending, I personally feel this movie is not up to that standard yet. Pretty Woman could be considered a classic that catapulted the career of Julia Roberts and the charming Richard Gere, while this movie had the cast who already had some colorful careers. Besides, this one was having a lot more comedy than drama, especially since Seth Rogen was famous for his comedy genre. I also thought his character in here a bit similar to another rom-com Knocked Up (where he was paired with Katherine Heigl).
Aside from that famous Roxette song in one of my favorite scene, this film also had some nice songs included, with Boyz II Men also made some minor appearance. For a movie with around 2 hours duration (including the end credit scene which did not have any mid or post scenes), surprisingly it did not feel overly long. We did not feel tired or depressed because there were some fun moments every now and then, not only from Seth Rogen but also from other supporting roles. There was the US president Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), the Canadian Prime Minister (Alexander Skarsgård) and another one of Charlotte's staff Tom (Ravi Patel).
Overall this was a pretty enjoyable romantic comedy movie, heavy on the comedy side. The jokes were quite crude (it was R rated in the US) and there were even some scenes more suitable for adults, so the 17+ rating in Indonesia was really correct. We could have some laughs and be entertained with the odd relationship of these 2 unlikely but not impossible persons (hence the tagline). It was a nice counter on the movies options for this week for us. However, do not expect this to be the really really romantic movie where we would be exceptionally happy in the end. Even my wife who is usually a helpless romantic did not seem to be too touched. It is hardly a classic, but still entertaining nonetheless. So if you are looking for a comedy romance movie to be enjoyed, this could be a nice alternative. The choice is yours.
Mike's movie moments rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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