Born Romantic (2001)

not horrible nor great

It's one of the most original films you'll likely see all year, which, depending on your threshold for certifiably crazy storylines, could be a rewarding experience or one that frustrates you.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This film is about 3 men trying very hard to get to the hearts of three women. These six people are connected through the same taxi they take in different times.In the beginning, the film is confusing because of the three parallel stories to introduce the three couples. It took me a while to understand who is who! After all the scene setting, the film becomes a lot more interesting and human. The character development is good, and all six leading characters get their own unique profile. Catherine McCormack's anxious and hypochondriacal character is the most memorable. The film ends with the message that everyone wants love, we just don't know how to get it.

I rented this movie looking for a romantic comedy and knowing nothing about it other than it starred Craig Ferguson. I am a big fan of his, but this movie was not one that he should be proud to put on his resume! As another reviewer pointed out, there are too many subplots and not enough time to get into any of them. It was ninety minutes of drivel, truth be told. The only part that I enjoyed (which did not belong in the film one iota) was when Craig Ferguson sang in a nightclub accompanied by a band. He sounded great! While no single actor did a bad job, the material they had to work with was just subpar. Nothing fresh was done in the area of romantic comedies and the whole thing was just dull. Don't get this one! Get "Saving Grace" instead! Or "Greenfingers". Or "The Mean Machine". All 3 are in the new release section of your video store and are British movies that are much better.

Centred around a salsa club and a taxi driven by the wise Jimmy, this romantic tale sees three couples struggling to work things out. Fergus is trying to find the girlfriend he ditched eight years ago, Frankie is trying to woe Eleanor, while thief Eddie struggles to turn over a new leaf for weirdo grave decorator Jocelyn.British comedies all want to be The Full Monty – they want to be funny but they also want to try and have real characters and gritty surroundings. It has become a bit of a cliché but I still prefer it to the US romantic comedy which usually fall into the mushy camp. Here the plot focuses on three couples who struggle with slightly unusual problems but are pretty good characters. The comedy is light and doesn't always work as it falls under the gritty mood, but it's still amusing.The focus on the salsa club is a little bit of a cash in on an ongoing popular fad in the UK (at time of writing!) but it works well and the music is pretty cool. Certainly those who have tried to impress girls at these places will relate to the difficulties in some cases. The weakest bit for me was the focus on Jimmy as the wise old man of the piece. It is good that he learns a lesson himself later but for most of the film he is a bit arrogant and is put forward as better than everyone else in the film. It took away from the reality of the other characters to have this wise cab driver in there too.The cast are all pretty good though. Ferguson, Mistry and Morrissey are all convincing as the men although Horrocks, McCormack and Williams have less to do, but are still pretty good. Lester is a good actor and holds the eye but I found his character so annoying that it was hard work to care. Hart and Thomson are both amusing but underused in a couple of cameos.Overall this is in line with the pitch of recent Brit romantic comedies such as `This Years Love' and is better than the romantic mush we get from across the pond. The gritty feel is good even if the comedy is a little lacking. The characters are mostly relatable (even where the plot isn't always) but Lester's Jimmy is like putting some sort of Jesus character in the middle of Eastenders - totally unbelievable and a little annoying.

I must confess that I had never heard of this until it appeared in this week's TV schedules.Yet it is a wonderfully cast, plotted, written and acted film. But above all it is both funny and true-to-life. One of the best I've seen in a long time and makes me wish I'd seen it at the cinema.