This is a new film, and my review might be BRIMMING with CRUCIAL SPOILERS, so proceed at your own wish.
Wow...just got done watching this one on OnDemand and let me just clarify that there is no prejudice in me when I say this film goes far deeper than any recent romcom I've seen. The trailer is sweet and shows the film's comic side, but I'm so happy that when I saw the film in its entirety, it presented its very dramatic side. There's no slapstick or farce here. These are real people, real problems, and real behaviours that result in real conflicts.
The one thing that nagged me is that someone should have really pointed out to Grace (Sara Paxton) that the event that lead to all of the conflict and misunderstanding took place only hours after she met Harry (Jonathan Sadowski). She and Harry were not committed to anything solid. Though I never doubted that she genuinely liked Harry, it is pretty evident early on that Harry really, really REALLY likes Grace, and her admission that she had another party of interest hit him kind of hard. In genuine distress and loneliness, he does hook up with Maren (Connie Nielsen) the beautiful sexy older woman, but let's remember, he was single. Let's also remember he was still recovering from a broken engagement, in which he was cheated on no less.
There was never a moment in this weekend where Harry was sure Grace would become someone he could have a relationship with. He didn't cheat on anybody, and even Maren was talking nothing but casual sex and fun while they were spending time together. She lied by omission when he asked her if she was divorced.
Suddenly, once something real with Grace presented itself, Maren's casual attitude evaporated and she became all to commonly bitter and scorned. I felt that in the course of this film, Harry was unfairly and repeatedly punished,tortured and manipulated by Maren. In his words, he did nothing wrong. She had motives. Though Nielsen does an amazing job, it is very hard at times to like Maren and not see her as a passive-aggressive, vengeful bitch. If her husband Phil (David Aaron Baker) hurt her so (and of course he did...I never doubted for a minute that Maren is a very sad and hurt person) why not divorce him? Why not sit his ass down and tell him, "You do that to me again, and I'm out of here...no questions asked."
Instead, she is either testing whether she's still got "it" by sleeping with a lonely guy...or she's plain just punishing Phil from afar. If that wasn't enough to get my back up at her, she deals a harsh blow at both Harry and Grace by sending Grace a breakup text in Harry's name...because she wasn't going to let him tell Grace the truth, so that he could deal with the consequences, good or bad. She was selfish, and I discerned a desire to continue "punishing" both Harry for deciding to be with someone else, and Phil for an affair he had sometime back. It is only after everyone confesses to each other their sins as it were, that I began to believe Maren really wanted to atone for her own destructive deeds, and that she and Phil could somehow find the happiness they once knew.
Maren and Harry indeed DID NOTHING WRONG when they slept together. She had no idea Harry would end up dating her daughter. Harry had no idea Maren was Grace's mother, or that Maren was still married. I just found it sadly amazing that Harry spent most of the film punishing himself for something he shouldn't have been punishing himself for. I was very frustrated because that crucial tidbit, "Your mom and I slept together BEFORE we really had anything going on," seemed omitted. Grace was wounded, and it's hard for me to tell if she was just shocked at the fact that it's that small of a world, or if she truly thought Harry and Maren hooked up AFTER Grace and Harry began to date officially. If he had been established as Grace's boyfriend before meeting Maren, yes, I would agree with her smacking Harry in the face and shutting him out, but otherwise no.
Sorry this is so long...thought provoking movies do this to me...I love the movie, but it made me think about things...it really made me examine its characters, and even if my review sounds like I hated the film, the opposite is true. I love character studies most of all. It is a credit to JC Khoury's writing and direction, as well as the amazing cast bringing these four complicated all too humans to life. This is the first romcom in a long time that made me cry more than laugh, but I like it.
Wow...just got done watching this one on OnDemand and let me just clarify that there is no prejudice in me when I say this film goes far deeper than any recent romcom I've seen. The trailer is sweet and shows the film's comic side, but I'm so happy that when I saw the film in its entirety, it presented its very dramatic side. There's no slapstick or farce here. These are real people, real problems, and real behaviours that result in real conflicts.
The one thing that nagged me is that someone should have really pointed out to Grace (Sara Paxton) that the event that lead to all of the conflict and misunderstanding took place only hours after she met Harry (Jonathan Sadowski). She and Harry were not committed to anything solid. Though I never doubted that she genuinely liked Harry, it is pretty evident early on that Harry really, really REALLY likes Grace, and her admission that she had another party of interest hit him kind of hard. In genuine distress and loneliness, he does hook up with Maren (Connie Nielsen) the beautiful sexy older woman, but let's remember, he was single. Let's also remember he was still recovering from a broken engagement, in which he was cheated on no less.
There was never a moment in this weekend where Harry was sure Grace would become someone he could have a relationship with. He didn't cheat on anybody, and even Maren was talking nothing but casual sex and fun while they were spending time together. She lied by omission when he asked her if she was divorced.
Suddenly, once something real with Grace presented itself, Maren's casual attitude evaporated and she became all to commonly bitter and scorned. I felt that in the course of this film, Harry was unfairly and repeatedly punished,tortured and manipulated by Maren. In his words, he did nothing wrong. She had motives. Though Nielsen does an amazing job, it is very hard at times to like Maren and not see her as a passive-aggressive, vengeful bitch. If her husband Phil (David Aaron Baker) hurt her so (and of course he did...I never doubted for a minute that Maren is a very sad and hurt person) why not divorce him? Why not sit his ass down and tell him, "You do that to me again, and I'm out of here...no questions asked."
Instead, she is either testing whether she's still got "it" by sleeping with a lonely guy...or she's plain just punishing Phil from afar. If that wasn't enough to get my back up at her, she deals a harsh blow at both Harry and Grace by sending Grace a breakup text in Harry's name...because she wasn't going to let him tell Grace the truth, so that he could deal with the consequences, good or bad. She was selfish, and I discerned a desire to continue "punishing" both Harry for deciding to be with someone else, and Phil for an affair he had sometime back. It is only after everyone confesses to each other their sins as it were, that I began to believe Maren really wanted to atone for her own destructive deeds, and that she and Phil could somehow find the happiness they once knew.
Maren and Harry indeed DID NOTHING WRONG when they slept together. She had no idea Harry would end up dating her daughter. Harry had no idea Maren was Grace's mother, or that Maren was still married. I just found it sadly amazing that Harry spent most of the film punishing himself for something he shouldn't have been punishing himself for. I was very frustrated because that crucial tidbit, "Your mom and I slept together BEFORE we really had anything going on," seemed omitted. Grace was wounded, and it's hard for me to tell if she was just shocked at the fact that it's that small of a world, or if she truly thought Harry and Maren hooked up AFTER Grace and Harry began to date officially. If he had been established as Grace's boyfriend before meeting Maren, yes, I would agree with her smacking Harry in the face and shutting him out, but otherwise no.
Sorry this is so long...thought provoking movies do this to me...I love the movie, but it made me think about things...it really made me examine its characters, and even if my review sounds like I hated the film, the opposite is true. I love character studies most of all. It is a credit to JC Khoury's writing and direction, as well as the amazing cast bringing these four complicated all too humans to life. This is the first romcom in a long time that made me cry more than laugh, but I like it.