It's difficult for any serious movie-goer to enjoy this movie owing to its sad lack of wit, convincing pathos or engaging characters. In spite of the clear emotional resonance of the subject matter I found myself feeling utterly apathetic about any of the characters or the shallow, boring relationship formed between the two protagonists.
Aaron Eckhart is a sort of self-help guru (admittedly I do think that whole industry is horrifically over-valued and generally feel nothing but contempt for people who charge money for an audience to clap along to their life story... but I digress) who's wife died in a car crash 3 years previously. His main purpose is to help people with the loss of their loved ones except... he is still harbouring a secret pain himself! Gasp! Actually not gasp: yawn.
Jennifer Aniston's character is difficult to describe owing to the crippling lack of depth given to her persona... it's actually very hard to recall a less exciting romantic lead in any film for a long time. Whether the script was inherently poor in this respect or she simply can't be bothered any more, it makes for painful watching.
And the film is woven around her character helping his character to heal from his 'secret pain' while the two faff around on a few dates devoid of chemistry or wittiness. Aside from a couple of giggles this film is not funny and can't be called a Rom-Com... any attempts at wit are very, very underwhelming.
And the ending is dreadful. Just dreadful. The scene in the auditorium where the right character walks in at the right time and then the crowd stand up and slow-clap? Lazy, lazy, lazy writing.
Positives? Eckhart is alright, the film is probably watchable if you lower your standards and expectations a bit. But honestly, this is better avoided.
Aaron Eckhart is a sort of self-help guru (admittedly I do think that whole industry is horrifically over-valued and generally feel nothing but contempt for people who charge money for an audience to clap along to their life story... but I digress) who's wife died in a car crash 3 years previously. His main purpose is to help people with the loss of their loved ones except... he is still harbouring a secret pain himself! Gasp! Actually not gasp: yawn.
Jennifer Aniston's character is difficult to describe owing to the crippling lack of depth given to her persona... it's actually very hard to recall a less exciting romantic lead in any film for a long time. Whether the script was inherently poor in this respect or she simply can't be bothered any more, it makes for painful watching.
And the film is woven around her character helping his character to heal from his 'secret pain' while the two faff around on a few dates devoid of chemistry or wittiness. Aside from a couple of giggles this film is not funny and can't be called a Rom-Com... any attempts at wit are very, very underwhelming.
And the ending is dreadful. Just dreadful. The scene in the auditorium where the right character walks in at the right time and then the crowd stand up and slow-clap? Lazy, lazy, lazy writing.
Positives? Eckhart is alright, the film is probably watchable if you lower your standards and expectations a bit. But honestly, this is better avoided.