Too Bad

Rating: 4/10 (18 January 2012)

This might have been a decent film, had the people behind it had ANY sense of pacing and character development. Or a firm idea of what movie they were out to make: heartfelt chick flick or gross-out farce. That's all there is to it, really - a little talent not compensating for big talent missing. For instance: Annie is just too dense to be sympathetic. From the start, we see her screwing a loser because -hang on - she has esteem issues. But it's too, too contrived because the guy is so repulsive. Then, we're given no reason why she abandoned her love of baking, except that the trauma of losing her store (maybe) killed her passion. Too, too textbook. Worst of all, the adorable, caring cop is dismissed BECAUSE the writer and director expect you to accept that this is what self-destructive gals do. Not because of some interesting revelation of her character, or anything. I did enjoy the gross farce, and the jewelry store humor. Over-the-top, but fun. Again, though, it comes down to creative staff actually not knowing HOW TO CONSTRUCT a solid, well-made film. I call it the Tim Burton curse; all they can do is throw together interesting scenes and uninteresting scenes.