Many Czechs love this movie, and by the comments on this site, I can see that even some Americans do. I can't see why, though. To begin with, "Román pro eny" is simply not funny. I can't think of one moment which would even amuse me. Instead, I felt like groaning every time there was any attempt at humor. Why was this ? Maybe because there is no real timing. Maybe because the comic situations are presented in such a smug and happy-go-lucky way that it's more like non-ridiculous people deciding to force themselves to act ridiculous than a naturally funny comedy. Maybe it's also because the actors are average dramatic actors rather than comedians. Or most likely it's because the movie derives much of its humor from people acting weird, like the mother being an enthusiastic participant in the rituals of foreign cultures because she dislikes her own people, the heroine's best friend pretending to be like Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill" or the brain-damaged grandmother constantly repeating the same question over and over again. In the hands of a better director or screen writer, such situations could be at least slightly funny. However, here, they just seem like boring non-weird people's unimaginative idea of weirdness.
The movie does not work too well as a love story either. The scenes which are meant to be touching didn't touch me at all. This is probably because the characters are simply not likable. For example, Zuzana Kanocz's character is a young woman who takes everything with a light, whimsical attitude and does not seem to feel anything too deeply, except for when she is dumped (but not when she is the one doing the dumping), and Marek Vasut's character is an inherently unpleasant jerk who lacks the warmth or charisma (or even niceness)to be a good romantic lead. But then, if these two characters are both intended to be good looking, almost amoral and mostly unemotional, they are perfect for each other. There is also the problem of the movie being kitsch in the sense that the plot twists are at least moving as ideas (eg. the closing subway-related sequence) but their execution in the movie is clumsy and not moving at all. The pairing up of two minor, mildly unattractive characters at the end is not only equally ineffective but something that any intelligent viewer could predict. And let's not even go into Kanocz's more minor boyfriends. Those are strictly in the "let's make a character out of one or two qualities" mode. The sequence with the sky diver is particularly bad, as it feels just like a chewing gum commercial.
So why do people like this movie ? Probably because they identify with the characters, which is pretty scary.
The movie does not work too well as a love story either. The scenes which are meant to be touching didn't touch me at all. This is probably because the characters are simply not likable. For example, Zuzana Kanocz's character is a young woman who takes everything with a light, whimsical attitude and does not seem to feel anything too deeply, except for when she is dumped (but not when she is the one doing the dumping), and Marek Vasut's character is an inherently unpleasant jerk who lacks the warmth or charisma (or even niceness)to be a good romantic lead. But then, if these two characters are both intended to be good looking, almost amoral and mostly unemotional, they are perfect for each other. There is also the problem of the movie being kitsch in the sense that the plot twists are at least moving as ideas (eg. the closing subway-related sequence) but their execution in the movie is clumsy and not moving at all. The pairing up of two minor, mildly unattractive characters at the end is not only equally ineffective but something that any intelligent viewer could predict. And let's not even go into Kanocz's more minor boyfriends. Those are strictly in the "let's make a character out of one or two qualities" mode. The sequence with the sky diver is particularly bad, as it feels just like a chewing gum commercial.
So why do people like this movie ? Probably because they identify with the characters, which is pretty scary.