Product: Prime
Rating: 4.0
Funny, touching
I'll admit it, when I see a romantic comedy it is usually through a cynical gaze. I normally get turned off by cliches or the very formulaic pattern they follow. Normally, I give romantic comedies pretty low reviews because they aren't my bag. Yet a gem of a movie comes along that makes me smile, laugh or thoroughly enjoy. My list of enjoyable romantic comedies is very slim but this movie is definitely on the list.Prime is a touching story that follows romantic comedy conventions like most romantic movies do, but its the telling, the acting and the humor that helps set it apart from the crowd. The plot isn't the most believable, filled with situations that seem too on the nose to be realistic. For instance, of all the people Uma's character could meet and fall in love with, she finds the son of her therapist?What saves the movie stems from Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep and relative new-comer Bryan Greenberg and a sharp script. These three actors do a terrific job of providing realistic characters and they are given dialogue that is not only funny but enjoyable and doesn't come across like some movies as being there only to be funny. In particular, Meryl Streep is quite fine, as usual, and gives us terrific Freudian therapist with enough nervous ticks and eccentricities to keep a smile plastered on my face. She is terrific. Her dealing with her son's new found independence is great, and her quandary of dealing with Uma's problems while at the same time realizing she's a mother of Uma's boyfriend brings some funny situations.The relationship between Uma's Rafi and Bryan's David is very interesting and realistic for the most part. Being around David's age, I could definitely relate to his experiences and his reactions. And I could definitely see a similar situation occur with a generation gap between two lovers. It was very interesting and "realistic" for a movie.What keeps this from being a truly excellent movie, in my eyes, is the rambling ending. It takes a long time in the second act to get to a concrete ending. I'm really glad the movie ended the way it did, I just wish they could have gotten to it a few minutes quicker.I am not the demographic for romantic comedies. And normally, when I do see a romantic comedy I don't like it and am critical of it. So it was quite a surprise to enjoy Prime so much. It is probably the best romantic comedy I have seen in quite a long time. While it doesn't live up to some timeless movies like When Harry Met Sally, it is one that I wouldn't be ashamed of owning.