2008 Woodie Awards
'A Lot Like' disaster
Jennifer Dolinsky
Issue date: 4/26/05 Section: Entertainment
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"A Lot Like Love," starring Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet, teases audiences with its tagline, "Thereʼs nothing better than a great romance... to ruin a perfectly good friendship."
Unfortunately, there is no friendship in this movie and after seeing it, Iʼm still waiting for the great romance. The movie begins as Oliver (Kutcher) is leaving to go to New York to visit his brother, and Emily (Peet) has just broken up with her boyfriend as heʼs dropping her off at the airport. Emily seems to be looking to join the "Mile High Club" with Oliver as she pushes herself into the bathroom while heʼs occupying it.
The movie is reminiscent of "Serendipity," which had a measurable plot and was entertaining and cute. This film, though, tries to play into that "fate will win all" twist and make the audience believe that these characters will eventually wind up together, despite life getting in the way. When the two first become friends, Emily is in a "punk" stage and Oliver is a year out of college, still trying to find his way as he plots to do something with the Internet.
The movie spans the course of seven years, during which Emily grows her hair out, finds a writer boyfriend, and auditions for a low budget movie where she apparently will play a vampire. Oliver moves out of his parents home, starts an Internet company selling diapers, and is dumped by the woman he is living with because of the amount of time he spends at work. There is no great friendship, and no real emotional attachment between these characters, as the movie gives a little bit of them together, slowly falling in love, only to jump to why they canʼt be together at the present moment. Then it jumps ahead a few more years to when they meet again.
The movie is obvious in its intent. It wants us to fall for these characters and to believe that they should be together despite jobs, location and relationships getting in the way. Once the idea of them together takes hold on the audience, itʼs quickly taken away.
Unfortunately, there is no friendship in this movie and after seeing it, Iʼm still waiting for the great romance. The movie begins as Oliver (Kutcher) is leaving to go to New York to visit his brother, and Emily (Peet) has just broken up with her boyfriend as heʼs dropping her off at the airport. Emily seems to be looking to join the "Mile High Club" with Oliver as she pushes herself into the bathroom while heʼs occupying it.
The movie is reminiscent of "Serendipity," which had a measurable plot and was entertaining and cute. This film, though, tries to play into that "fate will win all" twist and make the audience believe that these characters will eventually wind up together, despite life getting in the way. When the two first become friends, Emily is in a "punk" stage and Oliver is a year out of college, still trying to find his way as he plots to do something with the Internet.
The movie spans the course of seven years, during which Emily grows her hair out, finds a writer boyfriend, and auditions for a low budget movie where she apparently will play a vampire. Oliver moves out of his parents home, starts an Internet company selling diapers, and is dumped by the woman he is living with because of the amount of time he spends at work. There is no great friendship, and no real emotional attachment between these characters, as the movie gives a little bit of them together, slowly falling in love, only to jump to why they canʼt be together at the present moment. Then it jumps ahead a few more years to when they meet again.
The movie is obvious in its intent. It wants us to fall for these characters and to believe that they should be together despite jobs, location and relationships getting in the way. Once the idea of them together takes hold on the audience, itʼs quickly taken away.
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