For those who like their movies tasteless . . . .

Rating: 1/10 (14 March 2008)

A picture paints a thousand words. And if I were to use pictures to describe this movie they would be too hideous for public viewing. And yet, so is this movie.
The plot follows the developments of two unimaginative clichés, Amanda Woods (Cameron Diaz) and Iris Simpkins (Kate Winslet) who are having problems with men. Amanda finds her partner is having an affair and has a tantrum that borders on a violent, neurotic episode and decides to get away. Iris, finds that the man she as been in love with is finally getting married to someone else and becomes very upset. She too decides to leave. The former lives in the US, the latter lives in England. After a fairly unlikely agreement reached online, they decide to swap houses for a while to stay away from the vicious influence of men. Never does the film seem to care about the fact that they bring about their own problems and no quantity of men could change that; but that may be a matter for one's own interpretation.
After this change of location, they begin to meet local men and the whole cliché becomes even more sickly sweet. Amanda meets Iris's brother, Graham (Jude Law), who arrives drunk late at night and still manages to be inordinately charming in a rather contrived, Hugh Grant kind of fashion. Iris meets Arthur Abbott (Eli Wallach) a retired director whose conversations are about the good old days of Hollywood movies. This seems ironic as this movie is as unashamedly dull and clichéd as they come. She eventually meets Miles (Jack Black) with whom the eventual romantic bond is formed. His performance is so tame and boring that you wonder what drugs they were feeding him.
In the end they all have to, to some degree, confront their inner demons and sort out their relationship issues in the most trite manner possible. The main problem with the film is that it is so excruciatingly oversentimental. These characters seem to have nothing better to do than wallow in self-pity for the papercuts that love dealt them.
The mushy centre is badly concealed by a mushy exterior. Clichés with a heaped tablespoon of banality.