Workplace love?

Rating: 9/10 (30 November 2003)

Having scanned over 60 or so user comments, I find it odd that I appeared to view this movie very differently from most people.
It's not a typical romantic comedy, but obviously borrows heavily from the genre in terms of feel and what several have termed "cliches". It self-conciously borrows those cliches and jokes about them more than once.

Several people have complained of shallowness and lightness. Most romantic comedies focus deeply on one, occasionally two couples. We watch a long progression of their relationship and the various obstacles they encounter. Sometimes it's done well, but it's been done to death. I sometimes wonder if Meg Ryan doesn't have someone in a backroom photocopying scripts and changing the names around.
This movie pulled the camera way back to look at a "sample" of love. There's no time for drawn out development of each picture, but we see all the elements spread out over the whole set. Not every love story in life is a tragedy and not every one a fairy tale, but you can bet all the possibilities occur in life. I found this refreshing compared to the standard fare and loved it throughout, although there were some weak patches in there.
*** VERY, VERY MINOR SPOILER ***
Lots of people are complaining about how some of the stories (particularly the naked couple) are too silly, or insignificant or not funny. They were jokes. A whole sub-story. One joke. Bloody brilliant. A bit expensive in terms of screen time, but I loved them.
Finally, the thing that struck me very early in the film was that most of the stories were about situations where there is clearly some workplace relationship or difference in power that throws some uncertainty and tension into the situation. In today's society, we're very worried about sexual harrassment in the workplace, and rightly so, but there's no doubt that the resulting restraints are probably killing some healthy romances that might flourish if people were a bit more relaxed and open. I think Curtis was pointing this out (the naked couple is hilarious to me as the uttermost extreme) and suggesting that love needs to be given a chance, even if there's some risk. Would you talk to your boss about love? Your kid? The person who sits at the next desk? Maybe you should. I saw this as one of the main messages of the film. Evidently I'm alone. :)
*** NO SPOILER FROM HERE ***
Looking for depth? Try breadth instead, it can be quite as interesting. Looking for messages? Explore the connections between the stories, rather than the stories themselves. It wasn't perfect, but I loved it.