"Leap Year" Spoiler Alert!
As most movie-goers know, in 99% of romantic comedies, the two main characters end up together at the end. So what separates good romantic comedies from mediocre ones from downright bad ones is what fills the movie until the final moments. In the best romantic comedies, viewers grow to like the main characters and root for them to be together. Viewers understand why the characters like each other. The entanglements that (temporarily) prevent them from being together are fairly believable, as are plot twists. In the best movies, viewers also grow to care about the secondary characters, who often have plots, character development and romantic interests of their own, and who also serve to help the leads towards their goals. And of course, the best romantic comedies are actually, you know... romantic and comedic.
Leap Year is missing every element of a good -- or even a mediocre -- romantic comedy. Both main characters, Anna and Declan, are unlikable. Anna because she is selfish, demanding, stuck-up and narrow-minded. Declan because he's just a major crab-ass with a chip on his shoulder, hurling little but hate at someone who needs his help. The vast majority of their dialog consists of the two of them tossing insults and commands at each other, but not in a classic humorous banter kind of way. Just mean. They are not likable for the viewer, and I don't buy that they were likable to each other.
The plot twists are beyond stupid. Viewers are expected to believe that it takes a rich American woman several days to cross Ireland. Ireland is a first-world country smaller than the state of Ohio, complete with boats, trains, planes, automobiles, taxis and buses, so of course the whole premise is beyond silly. And of course the goal that supposedly drives this whole plot -- Anna must propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29 -- is flimsy and trite, especially for a self-sufficient woman from 21st Century America.
Speaking of boyfriends, there is really only one secondary character worth noting -- the boyfriend Jeremy -- and he is barely in the film. To the extent that he is an impediment to the female lead falling in love with Declan, it's more just presented as fact, and not shown. Nor is it shown why Anna wants him so badly, or why they got together in the first place, etc. Finally, the film tries to convince us that, even after he proposed to Anna, Jeremy never really loved her. And yet... the film fails to convince. If anything, Jeremy's "flaws" are that he is practical and cautious. There is no hint that he does not love Anna. When Anna dumps him (off-screen) so she can return to Ireland and pursue Declan, this botched plot point only makes it seem like Anna didn't get what she really wanted -- a dream life in America -- and so she settles for some scrub in Ireland instead.
Every other secondary character in the film is completely inconsequential, including Anna's father, played by John Lithgow, who we see for approximately 45 seconds and who serves no purpose other than to set up the importance of February 29th. No one makes us laugh. No one makes us care. No one contributes to Anna and Declan falling in love, expect through the most contrived ways (like some people at an inn who insist they kiss each other at the dinner table). There is certainly no character development among anyone besides the two leads (and even their character development is stunted, at best.)
Perhaps worst of all, the film is neither romantic nor funny. Although the two leads are quite handsome, they don't match. There is no chemistry. There is no friendship or cooperation. The most -- nay, the only -- romantic moment in the whole movie came when Anna and Declan accidentally crashed a wedding, and the bride gave a speech to her groom that was short and sweet and wonderful... and completely unrelated to anything else in the film.
And speaking of accidentally crashing a wedding... the film was completely unfunny. Attempts at humor consisted of "witty banter" that was neither witty nor funny nor flirtatious, just mean. It consisted of Anna stepping in cow poop, then complaining about her $600 shoes. It consisted of a car rolling into a lake. Of Anna being too snotty to ride in said car, because it was small. Of Anna blowing the electricity in an entire Irish town because she is stupid. Of Declan... oh hell, at least the script tried to make Anna's actions funny, even if it failed. The script didn't even try to make Declan funny at all, so I have no examples of the Declan-driven humor. He was non-stop sourpuss.
Oh, and that wedding scene reminds me... Much of this movie takes place outdoors. Including the wedding mentioned above, with the bride and guests in bare arms, and no one in coats or hats. This movie takes place in February. Ireland is in the north and it is cold. Especially in February. But you wouldn't know it from the clothes or behavior of the characters. Other reviewers have pointed out similar lack of care regarding the geography of Ireland, the current state of technology of Ireland, and the stereotypical treatment -- bordering on racist insult -- of the Irish people.
To sum it all up: This movie is a nearly complete failure all around. No romance, no comedy. No one to care about. No one to root for. Nothing and no one helping us make it through to the end. Two stars for good production values, sets, scenery and sound. Zero stars for everything else.
As most movie-goers know, in 99% of romantic comedies, the two main characters end up together at the end. So what separates good romantic comedies from mediocre ones from downright bad ones is what fills the movie until the final moments. In the best romantic comedies, viewers grow to like the main characters and root for them to be together. Viewers understand why the characters like each other. The entanglements that (temporarily) prevent them from being together are fairly believable, as are plot twists. In the best movies, viewers also grow to care about the secondary characters, who often have plots, character development and romantic interests of their own, and who also serve to help the leads towards their goals. And of course, the best romantic comedies are actually, you know... romantic and comedic.
Leap Year is missing every element of a good -- or even a mediocre -- romantic comedy. Both main characters, Anna and Declan, are unlikable. Anna because she is selfish, demanding, stuck-up and narrow-minded. Declan because he's just a major crab-ass with a chip on his shoulder, hurling little but hate at someone who needs his help. The vast majority of their dialog consists of the two of them tossing insults and commands at each other, but not in a classic humorous banter kind of way. Just mean. They are not likable for the viewer, and I don't buy that they were likable to each other.
The plot twists are beyond stupid. Viewers are expected to believe that it takes a rich American woman several days to cross Ireland. Ireland is a first-world country smaller than the state of Ohio, complete with boats, trains, planes, automobiles, taxis and buses, so of course the whole premise is beyond silly. And of course the goal that supposedly drives this whole plot -- Anna must propose to her boyfriend Jeremy on February 29 -- is flimsy and trite, especially for a self-sufficient woman from 21st Century America.
Speaking of boyfriends, there is really only one secondary character worth noting -- the boyfriend Jeremy -- and he is barely in the film. To the extent that he is an impediment to the female lead falling in love with Declan, it's more just presented as fact, and not shown. Nor is it shown why Anna wants him so badly, or why they got together in the first place, etc. Finally, the film tries to convince us that, even after he proposed to Anna, Jeremy never really loved her. And yet... the film fails to convince. If anything, Jeremy's "flaws" are that he is practical and cautious. There is no hint that he does not love Anna. When Anna dumps him (off-screen) so she can return to Ireland and pursue Declan, this botched plot point only makes it seem like Anna didn't get what she really wanted -- a dream life in America -- and so she settles for some scrub in Ireland instead.
Every other secondary character in the film is completely inconsequential, including Anna's father, played by John Lithgow, who we see for approximately 45 seconds and who serves no purpose other than to set up the importance of February 29th. No one makes us laugh. No one makes us care. No one contributes to Anna and Declan falling in love, expect through the most contrived ways (like some people at an inn who insist they kiss each other at the dinner table). There is certainly no character development among anyone besides the two leads (and even their character development is stunted, at best.)
Perhaps worst of all, the film is neither romantic nor funny. Although the two leads are quite handsome, they don't match. There is no chemistry. There is no friendship or cooperation. The most -- nay, the only -- romantic moment in the whole movie came when Anna and Declan accidentally crashed a wedding, and the bride gave a speech to her groom that was short and sweet and wonderful... and completely unrelated to anything else in the film.
And speaking of accidentally crashing a wedding... the film was completely unfunny. Attempts at humor consisted of "witty banter" that was neither witty nor funny nor flirtatious, just mean. It consisted of Anna stepping in cow poop, then complaining about her $600 shoes. It consisted of a car rolling into a lake. Of Anna being too snotty to ride in said car, because it was small. Of Anna blowing the electricity in an entire Irish town because she is stupid. Of Declan... oh hell, at least the script tried to make Anna's actions funny, even if it failed. The script didn't even try to make Declan funny at all, so I have no examples of the Declan-driven humor. He was non-stop sourpuss.
Oh, and that wedding scene reminds me... Much of this movie takes place outdoors. Including the wedding mentioned above, with the bride and guests in bare arms, and no one in coats or hats. This movie takes place in February. Ireland is in the north and it is cold. Especially in February. But you wouldn't know it from the clothes or behavior of the characters. Other reviewers have pointed out similar lack of care regarding the geography of Ireland, the current state of technology of Ireland, and the stereotypical treatment -- bordering on racist insult -- of the Irish people.
To sum it all up: This movie is a nearly complete failure all around. No romance, no comedy. No one to care about. No one to root for. Nothing and no one helping us make it through to the end. Two stars for good production values, sets, scenery and sound. Zero stars for everything else.