Viewed in
2008, 2011
Formats
Movie theater, DVD
Premise
A father tries to explain his impending divorce and past relationships to his young daughter.
Liked
The charming cast.
Thoughts
I found it surprisingly good.
For a romantic comedy, it had some smart, realistic characters with funny dialogue. Even though we always know it's a happy ending, kudos to the screenplay for giving the story that hides that inevitability.
The other thing that made this fun was the excellent acting. I've never seen any Reynolds' movies, but I found him very charming and likable (and looking too much like a clean-cut/super-cute version of Jason Lee). Abigail Breslin was very cute. I was glad the filmmakers did not overdose us with her cuteness. Everyone else was solid as well. Shockingly, I did not recognize the great Kevin Kline in a very funny role.
When I first saw Isla Fisher in Wedding Crashers, I thought 'she's hot!'. When I saw her in The Lookout, I thought 'she's versatile'. When I saw her charming performance in this film, I thought 'she is my new celebrity crush!'
Lastly, how in the world did the filmmakers conclude that the awesome Clint Mansell was the choice for the score? I mean, he did fine. But when I think of romantic comedy, I don't think of the guy who made the badass music for Pi and Requiem for a Dream.
What I would change
Nothing.
Random
Interesting that they bothered to use computer graphics to include the twin towers in the skyline in the 1990's flashbacks.
