A Lot Like Love (2005)

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Blistering performances.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Emily Friehl (Amanda Peet) has sex with Oliver Martin (Ashton Kutcher) on a flight but refuses to fall for his awkward flirtations. He vows to be rich and successful in 6 years and they bet $50 on it. Three years later, her boyfriend breaks up with her right before New Year. She decides to call up Oliver. They have a charming time but he's moving to San Francisco. Two years later, he gets dumped and she runs into an old friend who is now dating her old boyfriend. They spend some more great time together but she has just met somebody else before and his internet diaper idea is on the verge of a breakthrough. One year later, his work is in the dumps and she's a celebrated photographer but she's engaged.Sure, this is a copy of other great rom-coms. That has never irked me especially for the rom-com genre which relies a lot on formulas. The fact that it follows some familiar paths is a plus. Amanda Peet is adorable and is able to bring out some of the charm of Kutcher. That's the real deciding factor. They're a fun couple with a touching on-and-off romance. I would probably rework the years idea. I would start with "Six years ago", then "Three years ago", then "One year ago", then "Today". It would make the years countdown like a clock in a thriller and the saddest moment is when the clock gets to zero.

OK. So, I'm a guy. Who loves sports and beer. But I also appreciate a well done romantic comedy. The good: Four Weddings and A Funeral, Love Actually, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days. The bad: almost anything else I've seen Ashton Kutcher do (Just Married, What Happens in Vegas, No Strings Attached). However, this movie was great for me. I think there were 2 main reasons: 1) The chemistry between Peet and Kutcher is as good as I've seen. I really question how there are people on here that didn't see that (I'm assuming by the comments that they were blinded by pre existing biases against these actors). The scene in the car with her singing and him trying to tell a story is one of the best I've seen for this sort of light genre.2) At the root of it, it was a very relatable story. Sure, there was lots of far fetched scenarios, but I'm sure many of us have the one that got away, or the one where the timing never worked out (though in life, there isn't usually the happy ending to this story, and that's fine) Anyhow, I keep coming back to this film. As I tell people, I'm sure I overrate this film above its merits. But it's simple. These movies are supposed to entertain you, and pull you into the story. It's all subjective, but mission accomplished for me. Rent it if you want a light night in.

Like my summary suggests, this IS after all an Ashton Kutcher vehicle, a 30-something who plays 20-somethings who act like 10-somethings, specifically, how 40-something Hollywood wannabe players imagine how 15 year olds act. Everyone responsible for this slow-paced and emotionally shallow POS deserves to watch it a second time to get the full import of how awful their product is, how low they sunk to make a buck from the summer teen movie crowd. It's an hour and half of my life I'll never get back. Okay, you get it, I hated it. Bad scripting and masturbatory mugging designed to cater to forever-young 20 somethings are just carried too far. The script and directing are supposed to show us that even Califormia scene and emo twinks suffer from existential angst beneath the tans, the bitchy gangsta rap vocal tones and the endless sex that, not surprising, is somewhat bereft of passion (but so is the rest of this movie). The result, however, is so bad that even the usually pert and animated Amanda Peet comes across as unsympathetic, weird and just plain irritating. That's like making Sophia Loren ugly: theoretically possible, but you've got to work at it. Don't waste your time, even for a freebie TV viewing. Anyone over 14 and not emotionally stunted will be insulted by this film. I gave it a 2 because there's one good scene, with Amanda Peet of course, who for a moment gives a hint of the physical style of acting she is good at (in other films).

Sweet movie that keeps a good balance between romance and comedy, but the bonus stuff that didn't let this thing to fall apart was the drama touch, that appears in the right moments, just enough to keep it real and bring few not to big but yet... surprises in an overall genre defined by clichés. Also the chemistry between the two main characters is caught well, and the actors performance as young and naive opposite to more mature later is captured successfully.I highly recommend it to people that don't favor the genre, because it is not pathetic at all, a feeling I get very often when I watch romcom followed by thought "get over with it and end for once".