The Dilemma

*imdb.com



This is the other movie I saw at 30,000 feet. You could argue that my opinion is tainted by the fact that I'd already been traveling 24 hours straight when I saw it. But really, I think this film would be just as bad on the ground, after a nap and a shower, on the best day of my life. 

I'm beginning to be convinced that any movie starring Vince Vaughn is an automatic no-go. The weird thing is, I want to like him. People ("I ain't people!") say that he's a lovable 'everyman', and I can understand that. He's cool, he's funny, he's the kind of guy you want to be friends with. It seems he might even be charming if he wasn't always playing an insensitive buffoon who's unknowingly or knowingly being a jerk about things.

Unfortunately, Kevin James is also a good sign of a bad movie. He's hilarious, and I love him in the series "King of Queens" and in "Hitch". In fact, I wish the latter was all about him and not so much about Will Smith and Eva Mendez... but I digress.

In "The Dilemma", best friends Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James) are in the middle of closing a deal with Dodge to make electric cars with muscle-car sounding engines. Ronny discovers things with his 'perfect couple' friends Nick and Geneva (Winona Ryder) aren't what they seem. They're both having affairs, him with a shady massage parlor and her with a tatooed, yet sensitive young Channing Tatum. In Ronny's efforts to spare Nick's feelings and his sanity, Ronny threatens his own relationship with his girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly).
It's obvious from the plot that this movie does not promote good values. Even the better relationship in the film has unmarrieds living together. (I realize this is the norm for Hollywood, but that doesn't make it right. It's just not right.) The worst part is that Geneva is totally unrepentant and justifies her adulterous behavior. With a cast full of talented actors, I wish I could like this film, but even the edited airline version can't remove all the bad from this film. See, the thing about a comedy is, it's supposed to make you laugh. This one fails in that regard. Miserably. And not just because I'd been on the plane 4 hours too long.

How Do You Know?

*imdb.com

Oi. There's something about the movies you see on a plane; it seems to me that they're all bad! Or at least they're not movies you'd choose to watch if you weren't confined to your seat at 35,000 feet. Such was my case with this one (and another I'll review later on).

"How Do You Know?" is supposedly posing the question of how you can know, really know, that you're really in love. It's something everyone in the dating game wonders, right? You can't go wrong with answering that universal question, right? Wrong.

It follows Reese Witherspoon as a softball player for Team USA, trying to find the answer to this question and decide between the two men in her life. The trailer makes it seem lighthearted and fun. Totally chick flick material here. But it's a lot heavier than it should be, and never really reaches the "romantic comedy" it aspires to be.

First -- The main characters are so... miscast. Reese Witherspoon as an Olympic softball player?? Really? Who are they trying to kid here? Don't get me wrong - I adore her! She's darling. But she's tiny. She'd never make it in the majors, so to speak. Her body is fit, but not what I'd call athletic.
Owen Wilson could be a baseball player, but why do they even bother showing his profession? He's playing - again - a clueless, narcissistic ladies man. That's his whole character. Period.
The only two that are believable at all are Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson as businessmen. Paul Rudd is adorable as usual. And seriously, I'm no Jack Nicholson fan, but his performance is fantastic.
The supporting actors are also great. It's a shame the subplots were so underdeveloped or we could see more of them.

Second -- /Sigh/ There is no real plot in this film. To rephrase a classic movie line, 'Let me sum up. No, there is too little. Let me explain.' She goes on a date with Owen Wilson and they sleep together. Meanwhile, she meets Paul Rudd and they talk, share insights into their turbulant personal lives, and spend time together. **SPOILER!** (Ha! Hardly a "spoiler", it's so cliche...) She leaves Owen for Paul as they discover they really, truly love each other. And all this happens in just a few weeks. Naturally. Because isn't that how we discover true love?

In a word, NO. Well, some people do manage to find love in a couple weeks, I suppose. But it's rare.

I guess one thing that I really DO like about this film is that she realizes the one she really loves is the one she doesn't just hop in bed with. Here's a life "spoiler" for you -- Having sex with someone you're not married to will not bring you love. Sex can (and MUST) be based on love - a love so committed you'll wait until that marriage certificate is signed. But love can never be based on sex. It just doesn't work that way. So I guess that's one thing the movie actually got right.

However, there are so many bad things (her relationship with Owen Wilson, the drinking binges, etc.) in this film, that that one snippet of wisdom is hardly redeeming enough to justify watching it.