After rising to directorial fame with the very European Shallow Grave and Trainspotting, Danny Boyle decided to live a little and make his own American road movie A Life Less Ordinary. The film is the third collaboration between Boyle and actor Ewan McGregor. This time around McGregor plays Robert Lewis, a janitor for a large company who gets fired and replaced by a robot. In order to get back at the company he kidnaps the CEO's daughter, Cameron Diaz. An unlikely relationship develops between the kidnapper and kidnapee, a relationship helped along by two "angels" who are in charge of matchmaking human beings on Earth. It's a quirky romantic comedy with an unexpectedly violent streak running down the middle.
It's hard to comprehend exactly what this movie is trying to accomplish. It's romantic but not exactly touching. It's comedic without being overtly hilarious. It's eccentric and violent without feeling like an exploitation film. This weird mix of clashing genres actually does the film some good though, as it really is a lot of fun. It's strange, it's offbeat, and it's plenty entertaining from start to finish. It's got that Danny Boyle style that courses so strong through the auteur's veins. Of course you can't expect Trainspotting from it because A Life Less Ordinary is substantially watered down, and doesn't have the kind of human element we see in a dark character study like Trainspotting. The story is nothing special, but it's fun and it serves its purpose.
Again, I'm not sure what the point of A Life Less Ordinary is, but neither do I really care. Boyle has himself a fun little film here with enough quirkiness to keep it lively and interesting for an hour and 42 minutes.
It's hard to comprehend exactly what this movie is trying to accomplish. It's romantic but not exactly touching. It's comedic without being overtly hilarious. It's eccentric and violent without feeling like an exploitation film. This weird mix of clashing genres actually does the film some good though, as it really is a lot of fun. It's strange, it's offbeat, and it's plenty entertaining from start to finish. It's got that Danny Boyle style that courses so strong through the auteur's veins. Of course you can't expect Trainspotting from it because A Life Less Ordinary is substantially watered down, and doesn't have the kind of human element we see in a dark character study like Trainspotting. The story is nothing special, but it's fun and it serves its purpose.
Again, I'm not sure what the point of A Life Less Ordinary is, but neither do I really care. Boyle has himself a fun little film here with enough quirkiness to keep it lively and interesting for an hour and 42 minutes.