Synopsis: When a self-help author arrives in Seattle to teach a seminar he meets the one person who may be able to help him help himself.
Release Date: September 18, 2009 MPAA Rating: PG-13
Genre(s): Romance, Drama
Film Review
Production
If love is happening, it’s happening somewhere else. To categorize this film as a romance or give the impression to an audience member that that is what you will get is a gross exaggeration. The main plot of the movie actually deals with Burke Ryan (Eckart) overcoming his demons stemming from the death of his wife. As a self-help guru, capitalizing on his wife’s death and his supposed method to overcoming grief, he spends the majority of the movie with a room full of strangers working out their problems. The romantic angle of the movie, and Jennifer Aniston’s character Eloise, are merely a ‘C’ storyline at best. She appears now and again but a romance never fully develops between the two of them. And trying to throw a quick montage into the screenplay does not and cannot substitute for love blossoming. The real ‘B’ story, as it may be called, is between Burke and Walter, one of his seminar attendees. This storyline takes up a very large part of the film and it is also the most endearing part of the whole movie. Watching Walter deal with his young son’s death is incredibly moving. The entire romantic angle is mere filler, and could have been done without completely resulting in a much more entertaining and fulfilling film. As each minute ticks by you only wish more and more that you had bought a ticket for something, anything else.
Chemistry
Burke (Eckart) and Eloise (Aniston) are trying so very hard to like each other in this movie, and to get you to like the idea of them being together. Truth be told, they have zero chemistry together. This possibly stems from the fact that neither character is very likable. Eloise lacks any form of character development and Burke is essentially a hypocrite; something we learn very early on in the movie. Had the characters been written to be more well-rounded and charismatic perhaps seeing them together would have been different. But unfortunately they both lack personality, and without personality how can chemistry develop?
Cast and Crew
- Director(s): Brandon Camp
- Producer(s): Brandon CampMike ThompsonJennifer Aniston (Eloise)
- Screenwriter(s): Aaron Eckhart (Burke Ryan)
- Story:
- Cast: Dana E. GlaubermanEric EdwardsSharon Seymour
- Editor(s): Trish Keating
- Cinematographer: Christopher Young
- Production Designer(s):
- Costume Designer:
- Casting Director(s):
- Music Score:
- Music Performed By:
- Country Of Origin: USACanada