Good Romantic Comedy

Rating: 7/10 (8 May 2012)

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film, and felt endeared to sympathise with the characters throughout. The opening scene in which Will Smith, talks eloquent, yet humorous dialogue on how to deal and remain positive in love is brilliant, I also particularly like the opening soundtracks of 'Wonderful World' by Sam Cooke and 'Love Train' by the O'Jays really capture the essence of a movie that intends to spark the imaginations and cheer an audience of anyone up. Smith really blossomed in this role of the love doctor and his words and phrases on how to allow love to blossom appear understandable and captivating to an audience. After all the movie as shown by the front cover reveals Will Smith, stood up in casual pose, wearing smart clothes that indicate comfort with his identity and appearing seemingly ready to answer any questions.
As an audience we also warm to Albert, the bumbling middle-aged corporate man, who at first seems unable to handle himself let alone a potential relationship with a woman. This induces humour in an audience as we are encouraged to support the 'laughed at' character in his quest for love. Allegra Cole the subject of the affable nerd, fits this image of the desirable goddess perfectly.
Eva Mendes is portrayed as the glamorous, hard to get, reporter who is overtly critical of men. Her pairing with Alex Hitchins however seems well-matched, as both undergo a challenge to relinquish their occupations and personalities to try to care for one another in a quest to banish their problems in place of real true love. The setting is also brilliant and perfect for this satisfying romantic comedy, in particularly Ellis Island for the date.
One critical aspect however would come from the ending scene which is awful. Will Smith's character is too over-eager to get back with a character that is clearly not meant for him. Eva appears effectively done with their relationship and I think for an audience desiring reality, a break up in some form would have been more satisfying and real. The fact that Will goes as far as to jump on her car is nauseatingly far-fetched and from an audience perspective I'm left a little disappointed having enjoyed the film the whole way through. Albert and Allegra in contrast however are rightly together at the end.