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Alice & Jack (2023)
Enthralling
I guess you either engage with this story and these characters/actors or you don't. I absolutely did and was utterly enthralled by what felt like a really original exploration of a relationship over many years. Perhaps people are so tuned to expect the glib in love stories they can't connect to something different.
These characters (and these actors) are anything but the normal "fodder" for pat RomCom stories which I consider a complete bonus. And this, I'm more than delighted to report, is no pat RomCom. Its quirky and spiky, snarky, silly with a bruising emotional layer that utterly reflects real life. By the time I got into the series by a couple of episodes, the relationship is far more rich and interesting than I ever expected.
The characters are flawed, weird, sometimes completely unlikable or difficult (you know, like life!) and I was there for every second of it hoping it would never end.
These actors are stunning and it felt like it was written just for them. Their chemistry is unassailable, the dialogue intelligent and natural, yet exquisitely filled by both the writers and the actors. This series is a true gem.
Anyone But You (2023)
Keep your shoddy hands off Much Ado About Nothing
This movie doesn't even have the integrity to remain even loosely true to Much Ado. It steals a couple of morsels here and there; "Bea" and "Ben", a few lines that people obnoxiously claim to have "just made up" (some of the many eye-rollers) and almost immediately veers wildly off the premise and into the cringy. They do slap on the "Gulling" scenes (where the friends/family pretend to be talking about how the other one is in love with them so that they overhear) and instantly (in the next scene), the leads tell each other how they know it's all a trick. This movie can't even steal right and when they do they abandon a perfectly good and viable rom-com premise without letting it pay off. Perhaps fortunate for us (and Shakespeare?), since the acting from the friends/family in those scenes was exhaustingly cheap and awful. There was no way anyone in this movie was going to pull off this genuinely playful and charming a concept.
The reason for my 1 Star review (instead of 2) is this; The leads end up in the Sydney Harbour (off a boat). They are rescued from the water by a helicopter dropping lifesavers on ropes and hauling them up. Good grief. This is the moment I began to hate this movie. There are a MILLION boats in Sydney Harbour and a great many of them belong to a variety of Water/Search Rescue and Coast Guard and most of them are in very close proximity. Things that would never happen, Alex...
Glen Powell seems to be the only one holding this flimsy, cringe-fest aloft. He understands the mission and neither over or under plays his hand. He manages actual charm in a movie that seemed determined to kill off any at all within 500 feet and where everyone around him seems to be hurling themselves at their roles like cream pies at a clown. He also manages to do a really good job of projecting life into the frisson-free relationship he's saddled with but cannot do a thing to lift up the shockingly lifeless acting of Sydney Sweeney. She looks good in clothes, though usually not many. (I'm assuming it was, of course on purpose that her flimsy bikini top fits so badly that the back strap is forced up around the nape of her neck trying to hold them up) She also has enormous teeth which, for me, seemed to be relied upon instead of acting. One of her most notable accomplishments was her ability to say the word "Great" without opening her teeth or moving her lips and while smiling. That will also give you some idea of her accent overall. I should not have noticed any of these things but there was nothing else happening.
A variety of supporting actors seem like they are really, really trying, including Broin Bran who is trying out his new teeth in this role. The gorgeous Australian Shepard out acted them all. (Also obviously chosen for looks, but at least could pull of some genuine charm and very good tricks).
Scenery in Australia/Sydney is beautiful.