Raj S. Rangarajan
Ashton Kutcher, Kal Penn, and Ty Giordano
NEW YORK: “Don’t: You’ll ruin it!” is a line Amanda Peet (Emily) uses a couple of times in “A Lot Like Love,” a romantic comedy that also stars Ashton Kutcher (Oliver), being released Friday, April 22 in cinema halls in America and Canada.
Love is a light comedy where the female and male leads are constantly trying to read each other’s minds, each is confused or intrigued as to what the other is thinking and when they really have each other, somehow they miss saying the “right” words, which is a compliment to the writers who have the audience constantly teased. The narrative moves from New York to Los Angeles to San Francisco, and back again. The story seems to be a fuzzy reflection of some folks of the 20-plus generation that is preoccupied with the rational rather than the emotional. Once in a while a movie such as this comes along that addresses romance thematically and one is motivated to discuss the theme at length.
The characters’ insecurities, confidence and repartee are continually tested and reflected admirably where Oliver, after graduation, wants his job, career, house and girl in that order (“ducks in a row!”) but the bohemian Emily, a bold, free spirit is given to spontaneous streaks such as rushing into an airline washroom when it is already occupied by Oliver. What a way to meet.
Ashton Kutcher, who last year starred and produced the box office thriller – The Butterfly Effect has also appeared in Guess Who? with Bernie Mac and Dude, Where’s My Car? Amanda Peet (Identity, Something’s Gotta Give) who just completed a run in the play, “This Is How It Goes” at New York’s Public Theater is also currently co-starring in the Woody Allen comedy, “Melinda and Melinda” for Fox Searchlight.
In his career pursuit Oliver’s business partner is Kal Penn (Jeeter) who played a meatier role in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle as a comic with John Cho. With thick spectacles Penn looks serious and driven about obtaining finance for Kutcher’s venture capital project – Diaperush.com – with the mission statement: sell diapers. Whether the success of this movie will help Kal Penn move up a notch in his career path is debatable. Jeeter’s “moment of madness” in Love however, comes when he orders a Hummer.
(Ashton Kutcher and Kal Penn)
(Kal Penn with Amanda Peet)
Desis will be happy that the Montclair, New Jersey-born Penn is getting more roles in mainstream movies, albeit in supporting roles. Another feature he is currently shooting in Manhattan is The Namesake being directed by Mira Nair, based on a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri who won a Pulitzer for her fiction – Interpreter of Maladies.
Its perhaps a cliché but its karma inevitably – it seems – that keep these two 20-somethings’ relationship on and off over a period of seven years. While they do not complete each other’s sentences, there’s something inexplicable that draws them to each other whether it is in New York’s Chinatown, Los Angeles’s El Matador Beach or San Francisco. Witty, playful conversation – sometimes words that are never uttered by Oliver or Emily – help this romance flower in spite of themselves.
British director Nigel Cole deserves credit for attempting a concept where a great romance could ruin a good friendship, as the ad says, specially with many of today’s young questioning every aspect of life, school, career, family, et al. Cole has handled screenwriter and Los Angeles-based actor, Colin Patrick Lynch’s contemporary theme with panache and sensitivity. Lynch has been writing screenplays for 14 years and this movie – A Lot Like Love is his debut on the large screen. In 2003 under Cole’s direction Calendar Girls was adjudged Best Film at the 2003 British Comedy awards, a movie that was inspired by the real-life story of women who hit the headlines when they posed nude in their women organization’s calendar to raise money for leukemia.
Others who appear are Kathryn Hahn (Michelle) as Emily’s close friend. Hahn was Lily Lebowski in the NBC drama “Crossing Jordan” and on the big screen in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Also appearing is Ty Giordano (Graham) who acts as Oliver’s brother and their interaction is very real when the brothers communicate in American sign language. Kutcher, who spent several months learning the language says, “Graham is a character who just happens to be deaf.”
In order to represent transition of the on-going 7-year story director of photography John de Borman (earlier work with Cole on his feature film debut of Saving Grace), shows a plethora of colors and a certain anxiety in his choice of lighting, which as the relationship matures, brings his considerable skills to a mature and pleasant fruition.
[Raj S. Rangarajan is a New York based freelance writer. He covers trend stories on art, travel and lifestyles and reviews books, films and plays for media based in New York, California, Toronto, India and Australia.]
[Photos by Ben Glass. Copyright Holding Pictures Distribution Company, LLC.]
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