Product: Prime
Rating: 1.0
Missed the boat
I don't wish to be insulting, but I did not like this movie for several reasons. I should disclose that I turned it off a little over an hour in. I had no problems with the story, but nothing thus far had lead me to believe that the writer/director had the skills to save the movie. Please be assured, the one-star ranking is not an insult to anyone who liked the movie, made the movie, etc. Just a measure of how good I thought the movie was.1) There was no chemistry whatsoever between the two romantic leads. At the end of their first date, Uma Thurman's character leans over and says "I had a really nice time," and I had to blink twice. Really? Did I miss that? I only heard you giggle awkwardly at an unfunny joke your date made that didn't even come off as cute, and then the date was over.2) The dialog is entirely unexpressive. There's something to be said for giving the actors room to play ball, but too much and it becomes a meandering excursion in futility. At least it wasn't corny, with the exception of Bryan Greenberg's jokes. And many of the characters' reactions made no sense. Greenberg shows up unnanounced at Thurman's work, barges into a private area, acts like a jerk to someone who actually belongs there, and when she's upset with him he tells her that he's had a bad day and she instantly forgives him. I didn't buy it.3) The biggest failing, I felt, was the lack of music. It can be nice to have silence or a minimalist score (thinking Match Point or Monster's Ball) but big gaps of silence for no reason just make the stilted, ineffective dialog even more awkward than it already was. I actually watched the beginning over, to look for some effect that the depleted score brought to the table. I came up empty.4) The Jewish thing, while not offensive, is not very well explained. There's a good deal of Jewish stereotyping, most particularly that Meryl Streep's character wish her son to marry a Jewish girl. I dated a Jewish girl once and her family loved me, but I'm told this happens frequently, so it would likely be readily understandable to anyone Jewish watching this movie. To anyone else, her character could come across as bigoted without an explanation of why she feels the way she does. A single line of dialog, given early on, could've done this.5) The sex scenes were awkward to watch. Moreover, afterward you have to hear Uma Thurman rave about them. You really get a feeling that the script is trying to talk you into seeing things that you didn't see.That's enough for now. I hope this was helpful.