March 16, 2010
A screwball comedy set in Hollywood's version of 'Oirland', Leap Year is a disappointingly lame romcom. Amy Adams can usually do no wrong and she doesn't here either. But director Anand Tucker steps away from the poetic sensibilities that made When Did You Last See Your Father? and Shopgirl such resonant, wry movies.
Adams is Anna Brady, an American romantic. Expecting a proposal from her boyfriend, it's not to be. So on a whim she decides to surprise him on his business trip to Ireland - and propose to him herself. Thereby cashing in on the cute Irish custom that a woman can propose to a man in leap year.
But a diverted flight and a downpour later, Adams finds herself on the wrong side of Ireland and seeking a ride. Irish barman Declan (Matthew Goode) agrees to see her safely to Dublin for a ready sum. Thus starts a roadtrip involving broken cars, missed trains, mudbaths, fisticuffs...and second glances.
Adams isn't as good as Sandra Bullock at the pratfalls, but she's gosh-darn watchable nevertheless. But Goode's Declan is a bit of a boor and their 48 hours thrown together fails to create a convincing chemistry.
But there are laughs - Adams' accidental trashing of a hotel room and her gate-crashing of a wedding are two. But Tucker's not careful enough to avoid the in-your-face cliches - so there's little freshness on offer.
Even the bickering feels forced. And the awkward sharing of a guestroom was done better in Bullock's The Proposal - as well as in the Scottish roadtrip comedy Soft Top, Hard Shoulder (which, it must be said, beats Leap Year hands down for fun).
But it's a breezy feelgood film that follows the formula. Adams impresses - and curveballs her career once more after the wildly differing roles of princess, nun and cook in Enchanted, Doubt and Julie & Julia respectively. It's more like her Wooster-esque turn in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Tucker's luck seems to have deserted him though. His visual brilliance is certainly on show, but his nuanced approach is lacking. You wouldn't ask Fred Astaire to just...walk - and you don't hire Tucker to follow a formula.
But if you're indulgent, can go with the flow, and enjoy it as a piece of colourful whimsy, you'll probably be in clover.
Adams is Anna Brady, an American romantic. Expecting a proposal from her boyfriend, it's not to be. So on a whim she decides to surprise him on his business trip to Ireland - and propose to him herself. Thereby cashing in on the cute Irish custom that a woman can propose to a man in leap year.
But a diverted flight and a downpour later, Adams finds herself on the wrong side of Ireland and seeking a ride. Irish barman Declan (Matthew Goode) agrees to see her safely to Dublin for a ready sum. Thus starts a roadtrip involving broken cars, missed trains, mudbaths, fisticuffs...and second glances.
Adams isn't as good as Sandra Bullock at the pratfalls, but she's gosh-darn watchable nevertheless. But Goode's Declan is a bit of a boor and their 48 hours thrown together fails to create a convincing chemistry.
But there are laughs - Adams' accidental trashing of a hotel room and her gate-crashing of a wedding are two. But Tucker's not careful enough to avoid the in-your-face cliches - so there's little freshness on offer.
Even the bickering feels forced. And the awkward sharing of a guestroom was done better in Bullock's The Proposal - as well as in the Scottish roadtrip comedy Soft Top, Hard Shoulder (which, it must be said, beats Leap Year hands down for fun).
But it's a breezy feelgood film that follows the formula. Adams impresses - and curveballs her career once more after the wildly differing roles of princess, nun and cook in Enchanted, Doubt and Julie & Julia respectively. It's more like her Wooster-esque turn in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Tucker's luck seems to have deserted him though. His visual brilliance is certainly on show, but his nuanced approach is lacking. You wouldn't ask Fred Astaire to just...walk - and you don't hire Tucker to follow a formula.
But if you're indulgent, can go with the flow, and enjoy it as a piece of colourful whimsy, you'll probably be in clover.