The gods of alphabetical Sky movie watching decided that "10 Things We Should Do Before We Break Up" should be the next film I watch. A romantic comedy(-ish) starring Christina Ricci and Hamish Linklater.
Abigail (Christina Ricci) meets Benjamin (Hamish Linklater) on a blind date and despite both their acknowledgements that their relationship wouldn't work, a fact they detail at length on their first date, they spend the night together and Abigail becomes pregnant. Abigail already has two children from her first marriage and is unwilling to allow the childish and petulant Benjamin any further into her life, but eventually she relents and tries to manage their unusual backwards relationship.
So, I put comedy in the opening paragraph, but I'm not sure that's really right. There are romantic elements, and there's the capacity for a few of the scenes to be charming or humorous, but it's not really a comedy. It might have been, if for a small tonal shift in the Benjamin character, but really he's just too awful to be considered a comedic character. Self-sabotaging his relationship as he bumbles through a failed life, acting as if calling himself on his behaviour is in any way comparable to dealing with it. Ricci's performance alongside him is fine, if occasionally a little unlikely that she'd tolerate some of the earlier behaviour prior to it coming to a head. Overall, it's a reasonable, if slightly dull indie drama.
But there also are several bizarre scenes with Abigail's best friend that feel like coded lectures on anti-abortion themes, so much so I wondered if this was a Christian movie at one point during them.
Abigail (Christina Ricci) meets Benjamin (Hamish Linklater) on a blind date and despite both their acknowledgements that their relationship wouldn't work, a fact they detail at length on their first date, they spend the night together and Abigail becomes pregnant. Abigail already has two children from her first marriage and is unwilling to allow the childish and petulant Benjamin any further into her life, but eventually she relents and tries to manage their unusual backwards relationship.
So, I put comedy in the opening paragraph, but I'm not sure that's really right. There are romantic elements, and there's the capacity for a few of the scenes to be charming or humorous, but it's not really a comedy. It might have been, if for a small tonal shift in the Benjamin character, but really he's just too awful to be considered a comedic character. Self-sabotaging his relationship as he bumbles through a failed life, acting as if calling himself on his behaviour is in any way comparable to dealing with it. Ricci's performance alongside him is fine, if occasionally a little unlikely that she'd tolerate some of the earlier behaviour prior to it coming to a head. Overall, it's a reasonable, if slightly dull indie drama.
But there also are several bizarre scenes with Abigail's best friend that feel like coded lectures on anti-abortion themes, so much so I wondered if this was a Christian movie at one point during them.