Wicker Park (R: 2004)

Wicker Park Rated R, 2004 Director: Paul McGuigan Starring: Josh Hartnett (Plays Matthew), Rose Byrne (Plays Alex), Matthew Lillard (Plays Luke), Diane Kruger ( Plays Lisa), Christopher Cousins (Plays Daniel), Jessica Paré (Plays Rebecca).

What an incredible movie! I give it 5 stars - Suspense, intrigue, seduction, drama, and romance. With a twist of “Single White Female” this film is about a young Chicago executive who on the verge of marriage, discovers his long lost love is in town … His discovery steps back into the obsession he held for her when he was a photographer who fell hopelessly & obsessively in love with her at first sight. Bewitched by an obsessive admirer of his, the love duet were separated with thoughts that each other was no longer interested in one another. A suspense-filled tale unfolds between the obssessive friend, his best friend, Lisa, his wife-to-be, and himself with only an ending that “you must see the film” to behold …

Something about this film seduced me into watching it twice, right after the first viewing - and I still had the same enchantment of satisfaction after watching it again. A must see!

Hitch or Miss, Part Deux

So all I have to say is thank God I used a gift certificate to see “Hitch”. In all fairness, it wasn’t all that bad but between the predictability and being mind-numbingly painful to watch on the eve of a failed relationship, it lost points with me. I would recommend it as a DVD pick when it comes out in another month or so…

I’d also like to add my two cents on this year’s awards season. Two of my absolute favorite films of the last year (”Garden State” and “Motorcycle Diaries”) were snubbed during both the Oscars and Golden Globes for best picture, acting/directing honors, etc. (I am aware the “Diaries” was academy award-nominated for screenplay, which it shouldnt’ve lost!!). Both films were more poignant than “Ray” and “Million Dollar Baby”, and they struck a chord with me long after I left the theater. Why couldn’t a biopic about Che Guevara have the same commercial success as a film about Ray Charles? Did everyone go to the latter film because the lead actor was in “Booty Call”?!!!

Hitch or Miss

Hitch looks bad. You see the trailer in the theater and you roll your eyes as far back in your as they’ll go, and you elbow your boy/girl/friend and say, “Gosh, a movie about Will Smith and Eva Mendes, and they’re playing “Now That We Found Love” by Heavy D and the Boys? I wonder if they’ll hook up! What do you think!” and your boy/girl/friend giggles and tells you to be quiet. Then you forget about it. Then you’re flipping channels at 11 on a weeknight and Will is on “Oprah” on some double-digit channel and he’s doing his slick little flappy-eared Fresh Prince act, and flirting with Oprah, and you think, heh, that was kind of funny, what he just said about the homies watching him film the scene where the fat guy from “The King of Queens” kisses him in Brooklyn, and they’re all, aw, hell no, Will–come on, bro! Then they show a few clips and you’re like, OK, that was funny too, where they’re dancing and Will Smith is like, “Do the Q-Tip, do the Q-Tip, and throw it away!” It’s not like you’re gonna go SEE it or anything, though. It was just funny, that’s all.

And then it’s Friday night and you’re smashingly bored, and some friend of yours has a pass to a showing of “Hitch”, and there’s nothing better playing, so you go. You know the plot is thin: Will is a professional playa who teaches other men to play; Eva is a smart, saucy journalist who gets targeted by Will. Meanwhile, Will coaches Kevin James, a socially inept tax adviser, on how to win the heart of a client. So when Will and Eva meet in a snotnosed Manhattan bar, your jaw is set, your arms are folded. Oh, please, here it comes. But accidentally, you get sucked into it, without even noticing. You find yourself rooting for Eva. Don’t take any crap from that wanker, Eva. He’ll just hurt you. THEN, her best friend gets played by some OTHER guy, and the guy mentions something about “the Date Doctor” as he kicks her out of bed, and you are incensed! Willard Smith, you cad! Eva’s friend is just a nice Southern girl looking for love! When Eva swears to find and expose this Date Doctor, you’re circling your wagons. Let’s get him.

You spend the rest of the movie on your haunches, wrapped up in the missed-connections romance between Eva, who doesn’t know that Will is the Dastardly Date doctor, and Will, who is realizing that he may have been Wrong about Women after all. You can forgive Amber Valletta for completely phoning in her performance as Kevin James’ love interest; he’s fat and dweeby and she liked him anyway. Your heart is touched, or its strings are tugged, or whatever. You are also enjoying the R&B/hiphop soundtrack. Endorphins in your brain feel good. Then, at the end, after everyone’s fallen in love properly, Eva and Amber have a dance party and they do the Swim and the Robot and you are thoroughly charmed to the tips of your eyelashes. You don’t have to like it, or admit it to your friend, who sees you obliviously grinning and is making fun of you. You are.

Or maybe that’s just me.

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