Somebody please put Diaz out of her misery

Rating: 3/10 (24 December 2006)

I have to say I am shocked that so many people online are posting that they liked this movie. Not only liked, but LOVED this movie. In the theater people were laughing at scenes that were not meant to be humorous, and I myself rolled my eyes so many times throughout it that my eye sockets got sore. I nearly walked out of the theater. I only stayed because someone else had paid for my ticket. Let me start with CAMERON DIAZ's character since she is the loudest distraction from the scanty elements that make this movie bearable. I think she squeaks, whines, moans, grunts, growls and bounces up and down more than she speaks. And no, I'm not referring to any sex she has in the movie. I almost wish I was, so she could have gotten it all out in a bedroom scene instead of tormenting us with her overacting and childish dramatics throughout the film. In the scenes where she actually does talk, her acting is so atrocious my efforts to ignore it were easily overpowered. Jude Law was fine, except that he got stuck with Diaz as his only real character to bounce off of, which left him flat. And his character was overdone and very very contrived. Kate Winslet was good, though she seemed ten times better than she really was in this because of the contrast of Cameron Diaz. Jack Black added some easy humor to it. He and Kate Winslet had some chemistry, surprisingly. It was clearly a very American film, despite half the cast being British, and being that half the story is supposed to be set in England it was, in my opinion, unrealistic and hard to believe. And yes, I have been to England. Another problem with the movie is it dragged terribly. It could have been an hour long. They took forever to advance the story line, and the scenes were bland. Over all I felt that I got half of a movie. The story between Winslet, Black and the old man was plenty. Perhaps a better-done version could toss in Jude Law as Winslet's character's charming brother or something. Get rid of that three-yea-old Cameron Diaz person. Nobody would accept Law as anything but a main character, but it would have been fine for me. Some have described it as a romantic comedy with a fairy-tale sensibility. I love movies with a fairy-tale feeling added to real life drama, but this movie was nothing more than baldly unrealistic. I'm just glad the money spent on my ticket wasn't out of my pocket.