Miss Nobody (2010)

People are voting emotionally.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This movie has everything you would want in a great movie: spot on actor selections, great plot, excellent locations, funny narration and dialog. But, it winds up being just a so-so movie. It is a movie that found me reaching for the remote to fast-forward more than once due to it's tendency to drag along in places, only to leap to another situation. It is a movie that you WANT to cheer for, but can't. You WANT it to succeed, but it doesn't. Excitement builds at the end, with fairly good pacing, but it is almost too little, too late. Given the abilities of actors involved and the really funny plot, I feel that a different director would be able to tie this up into a neat package that would be on my list of movies to wear-out watching.

Sarah Jane McKinney (Leslie Bibb) is a secretary of the big Judge Pharmaceutical company and devote of St. George that she believes protects her since she was a child. Sarah Jane lives in the boarding house of her mother Claire McKinney (Kathy Baker) where the Mr. Ketchum (Geoffrey Lewis) that has Alzheimer is her only client. Sarah Jane also dreams on finding her knight in shinning armor. One day, Sarah Jane's best friend, the also secretary Charmaine (Missi Pyle) shows her that the company needs a junior executive and she will apply her curriculum vitae to the position. Sarah Jane decides to do the same and she is selected to the position. However, the political lady killer Milo Beeber (Brandon Routh) is transferred to the position and she is her secretary. When he makes a pass at her, Sarah Jane goes to his flat and accidentally kills Beeber. On the next day, she is promoted to the position of junior executive again. Sarah Jane has to kill other executives to protect her and she climbs in the company. When the new guest Det. Sgt. Bill Malloy (Adam Goldberg) comes to the boarding house, they fall in love with each other. But the problem is that Malloy is the homicide detective in charge of the investigation of the murder cases."Miss Nobody" is a comedy of black humor with a dark criticism to the environment and how to climb positions in a corporation. The idea of killing bosses is not original, but he screenplay is funny and Leslie Bibb using the same style of Audrey Tautou in "Amélie Poulain". In the end, the movie entertains but the conclusion is moralist. My vote is six.Title (Brazil) : "Uma Secretária de Morte" ("A Death Secretary")

A very good looking movie that has a fluffy charm, considering its subject matter, that keeps it from becoming a real "black" comedy. It is more like a throwback to an earlier time of whimsical romps with a touch of more cynical modern sensibilities.The casting is dead-on and the Miss Nobody is cute as punch and the actress does a great job in this entertaining and fun story. There is a nice twist and the only weakness is the ending that could be much more in tune with the style that preceded. The film is a successful attempt and it is not very witty or deep, but can be enjoyed as a better than average entry into the now in vogue Premium Cable quirkiness that is always fun in its inoffensive and a bit edgy satire.

This film reminded me immediately of one of my favorite films - Amélie. It is delivered in the same quirky, cartoon-like style but without the mesmerizing charm and flowing story line. The acting by Leslie Bibb was fantastic and she did a wonderful job with what she was given. Everyone in the cast was outstanding and acted their hearts out. I can easily see why they all won awards for their performances in Boston. The main problem I found with this movie was that after the first half hour it was so repetitive and predictable, I found myself looking at my watch every 5 minutes. That being said, I appreciated the director's (Tim Cox) dedication to the style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amélie), as I imagine that these kind of films are much more difficult to direct and produce than a straight forward, dark comedy. I was relieved when it all came to an end.