I've done this before in reviews; I will list what I liked and didn't like about the movie, starting with the positives:
The Cast
Wow, can you ask for more? The actresses are amazing, beautiful and funny. Kristin Davis is all over my television set because of my wife's obsession with "Sex and the City", she's really funny in this. Faizon Love has really come a long way from playing 'Big Worm' in the first Friday film. The yoga instructor is played by Carlos Ponce, and he steals every scene he's in. Vince Vaughn, and Jon Favreau are so good together, its reminiscent of Swingers; you don't know if their dialogue is scripted or simply improved. Bateman, does so well as the stuffed shirt attorney, you want to hate him he's so uptight, but you can't, you love him. Great casting all around.
The Scenery
My goodness, the setting in this movie is amazing. It takes place in Tahiti; the island really becomes a character of its own. I mentioned in my Love Happens review, that very few movies can create a character out of the setting, this film does that.
The Situations
This is definitely a movie with situational comedy. There are awkward, yet funny moments in couple's therapy. There is a scene where I laughed so hard my stomach literally started to hurt. I'll have to wait for the DVD but I'm sure the actors broke and started laughing during the scene. Just remember this word, "encouragement"! So funny it hurt.
Here are a few things I didn't like:
The Predictability
I can't really say too much about this. In a lot of comedies, it's predictable. You kind of got a sense of what was going to happen. You knew which problems were going to be resolved, you knew there would be a happy ending, etc. Again, in most comedies, they're predictable.
Off-Beat Scenes
There are a few scenes that just don't fit with the rest of the movie AT ALL. Yes, I understand Vince Vaughn is a video game rep. But come onnnnnnnn. He has to battle it out on "Guitar Hero" to get directions to where the 20 something girl friend of a Faizon Love is?!?!?! Whyyy, oh whyyy is this scene in the movie. Minus this scene, the movie is really grounded in reality, and very well written by Vaughn and Favreau.
That's really the only things I didn't like about the film. It was just a great, very funny movie. It was very grounded in reality which helps to make it even more funny. My wife and I found ourselves poking each other as to say, "you do that to me", "no you do that to ME". The cast is so talented, I'm glad they lived up to the hype this movie has received. The trailer offers a lot of the funny scenes in the movie, but trust me, there's a lot more in the hour and 45 minute film that's not in the trailer. I loved this film and would recommend it to anyone. And remember, "baaaang, baaaang".
