Lighthearted story about the build up of love between two old acquaintances

Rating: 4/10 (23 January 2014)

I watched the film because someone suggested me that film as a primary example for a lighthearted love film. In that respect it worked quite well for me. It had plenty of light but sincere dialogs that people discredit way to often. The acting is pretty calm and emotions are shown in a controllable manner. But that is pretty much the bottom line of the movie. The film completely rejects the difficult aspects of love since none of the two is ever really isolated, lonely or desperate. They have either each other or friends who cheer them up with smooth remarks. My guess is that this film appears better to people who shy away from spending to much time alone. As for me it did not really work as I prefer a satirical or poetical treatment of the misery of love to not really mentioning it at all. Of course I also saw the scene when Harry meets his ex-wife or when Sally learned about Joe's marriage. But those moments were lived though in company and Sally's was answered with sex. In a way it paved the way for the happy end. Of course the film is a piece of fiction but to me that is too simple to offer any reason for joy in the end. The love they have in the end is as light as the whole film. As a result it seems to be something that feels nice but dispensable. I thought it was an OK ending since it left out too many fancy objects and focused on the lovers. I prefer more complex movies but acknowledge that movies like this are important to make people feel good once in a while.