Review: Leap Year

Leap Year

OPENING: 01/0/2010

STUDIO: Universal

RUN TIME: 97 min

ACCOMPLICES:
Trailer, Official Site

The Charge
Anna planned to propose to her boyfriend on February 29th. This is not her boyfriend.

Opening Statement
Amy Adams has come a long way since her debut as a candy stripe nurse in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. Since then, she has garnered Oscar nominations for Junebug and Doubt, and a humongous splash with Enchanted, one of the best Disney films in years. I’ve loved her spunk and radiance in practically every movie she’s been in… until now.

Facts of the Case
Anna (Adams) is an upper-class, spoiled twit from Boston who can’t wait to marry her hunky boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott, The Aviator). Impatient for him to propose himself, she decides to meet him in Dublin on February 29th and ask him herself. However, inclement weather strands Anna being in a coastal village and she’s forced to spend time with a scruffy innkeeper named Declan (Matthew Goode, A Single Man) while on the way to Dublin. You can fill in the rest.

The Evidence
Now, before you get all up-in-arms about how I’m a guy, this is a “chick flick,” and I’m not the target audience, I love romantic comedies. It’s a safe, easy-to-enjoy genre, even if it follows a well-established paradigm. Romcoms are largely dependent upon their stars and the chemistry between them to elevate the material above a level of ordinariness. Some of my favorites include When Harry Met Sally… , Groundhog Day, and 50 First Dates. Not only did the stars of those films play off each other exceptionally well, but they also worked overtime to appeal to both genders.

However, I’ve become extremely nervous about the state of desperation the romcom is experiencing. Last year, all the major entries had to depend on the same tired material, meet-cute cliches, and predictable motions to fuel their tank of love. In fact, I’m surprised at how unpleasant and mean-spirited many of them were (The Ugly Truth, All About Steve). Even The Proposal, despite being agreeable and well-acted, surrendered to the obvious far too often. Add to the mix two other duds with a hefty amount of star power — Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past, Love Happens — and the level of contempt has risen to an all-time high.

Now, we kick off 2010 with Leap Year, which does nothing but shamelessly rip-off the immortal It Happened One Night (1934). It doesn’t even feel like they’re trying to do anything fresh or original here. Then again, the warning bells began to ring during the opening credits, when I realized this was written by Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan, the duo behind Can’t Hardly Wait (an atrocious rip-off of American Graffiti), the stinker Josie And The Pussycats, and the putrid Surviving Christmas. Here they have sunk to the lowest level by going after the granddaddy of romantic comedies, transplanting it into the 21st century and changing little aside from the setting.

Let’s ensure we have all the ingredients for this 75-year-old recipe, shall we? Girl traipses off to be with her boyfriend? Check. Girl runs into guy who’s handsome but despises her shallowness and materialistic outlook? Check. One person thinks there is a substantial amount of money due or owed to them? Check. Guy and girl pretend to be married? Check. Both are forced to share a room together? Check. Guy stands up for her when her disgust is almost irreversible? Check. Despite their differences, both find themselves attracted to one another but don’t consummate their feelings until the end? Congratulations! That and five bucks will get you a pack a fags, mate!

Thanks to the lack of any real humor or character insight, Leap Year doesn’t even come off as a harmless clone. All we really know about Anna is she wants to marry her boyfriend and take care of her expensive suitcase. All we really know about Declan is that he wants financial compensation for Anna’s stupidity. Their dislike for each other is simplified to the most basic of insults, and their conversations are so uninteresting they induce more yawns than smiles. The lame physical gags misfire left and right. And, worst of all, Leap Year gets so routine and clichéd by the midway point, all hope for recovery goes down the drain.

The only thing that kept my attention was Adams, who is wasted beyond comprehension. Here’s an actress so bright and lovely even she can’t do anything to save the picture. At times, I could even sense a feeling of impatience and lack of initiative on her part. As for Matthew Goode, he at least tries to make it work, but the dialogue reduces his character to being an unlikable, sarcastic bastard. Plus, as handsome as he is, he’s no Clark Gable. The wonderful John Lithgow is given absolutely nothing to do as Adam’s dad and director Anand Tucker fails to inject any spontaneity or semblance of reality into this witless, moldy script.

Leap Year‘s only asset is Newton Thomas Sigel’s breathtaking cinematography, which richly captures Ireland’s seashores and green valleys with unparalleled splendor. Still, his frosting does little to improve the taste of this poorly-baked January loaf.

Closing Statement
This is the first black mark on Adams’ record and the court demands to see no more. She’s capable of far better. As for the remaining comedies of 2010, we hope they have something more to offer than pretty faces on a poster.

The Verdict
2/10

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