pinartarhan.com

Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present

  • Home
  • Hire Me
  • Books
  • Privacy Policy

Something’s Gotta Give starring Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson & Keanu Reeves: How A Romantic Comedy Ought to Be

Posted on August 7, 2014 Written by ripitup

Share

Something's Gotta Give movie poster
Image via movieposter.com.

I’m a huge fan of writer/director Nancy Meyers. It started with What Women Want (starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt), a blast of a romantic comedy with fantasy elements. It’s one of my favorite romantic comedies of all time, though if I had to talk percentages that movie is 80% hilarity and 20% romance. Something’s Gotta Give is a bit more romantic, though the balance is probably more 60% comedy and 40% romance.

It’s safe to call Meyers a superstar when it comes to romcom writer/directors. She writes great stories, directs while remaining honest to her characters and casts A-listers. She usually rocks the box office too. Other star-clad and hilarious Nancy Meyers romcoms include It’s Complicated (with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin) and The Holiday (with Jude Law, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet and Jack Black.) Both are recommended, though of these two, I prefer The Holiday. Something’s Gotta Give Premise: Erica Barry (Diane Keaton) is a beautiful, accomplished and divorced playwright with a house in the Hamptons. Harry Sanborn (Jack Nicholson) is a 60-something infamous rich bachelor with a reputation for not dating women over 30. Normally, these two would never meet.

But when Erica’s daughter Marin (Amanda Peet) brings Harry to her mother’s house for a weekend getaway, Erica also happens to be there with her sister Zoe (Frances McDormand), and hilarity ensues: Erica pretty much approves of nothing about him, and Zoe sees this as a fascinating opportunity to study the relationships of men and women, and why men tend to go for much younger women. Harry can’t wait to get out of there, but when he has a heart attack right before they can have sex, he is rushed to the nearest hospital where his doctor turns out to be the gorgeous, younger Julian (Keanu Reeves). All three women are pretty smitten by how nice and pretty he is, but he is taken by Erica, whose plays he is a fan of.

Harry is in a rush to go back to the city, but with his health at risk, Julian only allows him to stay at a nearby place for a couple of weeks, which to Erica’s horror, means her house. With everyone back to the city for work, she’s left alone with Harry, and quickly discovers he is a lot more fun, charming and intelligent than she gave him credit for. And to Harry’s dismay, she’s the most interesting and fun woman he has ever met. With a growing friendship and attraction, they will have to deal with their feelings for each other, as well as where Marin, Julian, and their outlooks on romance stand on all of this. After all, Harry doesn’t know how to be a boyfriend, and Julian is the ultimate catch. What does a woman have to do, especially with a play to write?

 

* Something’s Gotta Give is original, hilarious, honest and a little quirky. And if you pay attention, it’s also a fun, modern love story for any age. The movie makes astute observations on how we can’t help when, who or how we fall for, as well as what it means to be single (and dating) in the modern age of divorce and Internet. Of course if you want to get all cynical, you can call this movie superficial in many ways. Sure, there are health problems, but who doesn’t? Everybody is either rich, or making a decent living in NYC. Marin takes antidepressants because she’s an emotional “child” of divorce but her parents broke up when she was 23.

So apart from a couple of romantic and age-related health problems, everything is peachy. So if you do want a depressed outlook on life, go watch 21 Grams. It’s a very powerful, depressing and solid movie where no one is happy. And they deal with a lot of heavy stuff. If you want a more realistic romance where people aren’t rich, or all that healthy, watch Forget Me Not, which happens to be one of my favorite romances, by the way. It’s just not that light or optimistic. But if you are ready to dive into the typical (but extremely well-written) world of romantic comedy with a more dose of reality than most (Nicholson gets to lie on the gurney a lot, and being a lovely, smart person (Julian’s character) with brilliant looks doesn’t guarantee your happy ending) where the road to the happily-ever-after is just rocky (and funny) enough, don’t miss Something’s Gotta Give.

Fun Info About Cast and Movie:

–       Diane Keaton was nominated for an Oscar for her role. She and Nicholson were nominated for Best Actress and Actor (in musical or comedy) at the Golden Globes; Diane won.

–       The budget was 80 million, but the movie made$124,728,738 domestically, and a total of $266,728,738 (boxofficemojo.com.)

–       You can download the screenplay at sellingyourscreenplay.com

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Amanda Peet, comedy, Diane Keaton, It's complicated, Jack Nicholson, Keanu Reeves, keanu reeves somethings gotta give, nancy meyer movies, Nancy Meyers, romance, Something's Gotta Give, somethings gotta give cast, the holiday, What Women Want

Solomon and Gaenor starring Ioan Gruffudd & Nia Roberts: A Period Love Story

Posted on August 14, 2013 Written by ripitup

Share

Solomon and Gaenor starring Ioan Gruffudd
Solomon and Gaenor starring Ioan Gruffudd & Nia Roberts. Image via movies.zap2it.com.

Detailed Plot (Minor Spoilers)

1911, Whales.

Solomon (Ioan Gruffudd) is a young Jewish man living with his family, working as a packman for his father’s cotton shop and getting a bit fed up with the strict rules of the religion and attitudes of his family.

It’s an era where most people are not doing well. Welsh men work the mines and the Welsh and Jews just tolerate each other. Not that they are a fan of The English, either.

So when Solomon runs into a lovely Welsh girl named Gaenor  (Nia Roberts) during one of his door-to-door runs, he introduces himself as Sam Livingston, an English packman. She is soon lured by his gentle manners and attention, and they start seeing each other.

While her brother isn’t thrilled, Gaenor is certain that Solomon is serious so Gaenor sleeps with him.  She wants to meet his family, but he keeps making excuses- knowing his family would never accept a non-Jew.

It all goes well until she becomes pregnant. Solomon doesn’t know, and he hasn’t asked her to get married or meet his parents. So she leaves him. She also has to bear the reaction of her church and his father insists she married the guy. She’ rather give the baby away then be with a guy who doesn’t seem to love her properly.

Solomon does his best to see her, despite the violent reactions of his brothers. Upon his insistence, she searches for his secret and finally confronts him.

He is afraid to lose his family, but also doesn’t want to lose Gaenor.

Running away seems to be only option, but friends and family provide obstacles that will bear tragic results…

Solomon & Gaenor, Ioan Gruffudd
Image via allmovies.com.

Love vs. Prejudice, Society, Family & Religion

Solomon and Gaenor is a strange love story. I say strange because like its characters, it comes and goes between daring and shy, subtle and obvious, conventional and understanding (though Solomon’s family is strictly set on the prejudiced mode).

Solomon’s lying about his name and backgrounds is a form of rebelling to the mutual prejudice in the town as well his parents’ unflexible lifestyle. While it isn’t nice to lie to Gaenor, I can sympathize with why he did in the beginning. She probably wouldn’t have been that open to dating a Jew, and even if she was open-minded enough, her parents wouldn’t let probably let her. And she’d be more inclined to listen.

But of course it isn’t fair for Gaenor, who has a mind of her own despite the traditions and conventions of the era and religion she belongs to. It was her choice to sleep with Solomon before they were engaged or something, but then again she didn’t have any reason to believe she wouldn’t be.

Solomon should have at least explained her the situation before they got intimately involved, but hey there is only so much maturity in him before his infatuation and hormones get in the way.

That’s the problem with semi-conformity. If he had the nerve to tell her the truth, stand up to his parents (and face the consequences of rejection), the story would have had a different kind of ending.

And while it is not easy losing your family, you should remember Solomon was never that happy with them, didn’t quite belong. It was heart-breaking when his father wouldn’t even include him in a prayer – because hey, he is an adult.

And remember, in the end he was sort of excluded anyway, and he did choose to risk whatever is left of their support, as well his life, to be with her at the end.

I was surprised by, and towards the end respected, Gaenor’s father. Considering his reaction to the red dress, I semi-expected him to shun her and throw her to the street after she got pregnant. But he encouraged marriage to the father, if she wanted to keep the baby. Considering the era, he was pretty damn cool about it in the long run. So was her mom, supporting her decision if she didn’t want the guy.

Her brother was a bit of a jerk, but Solomon did deserve some of it. 1911 or 2013 – I can’t imagine too many brothers reacting differently regardless of personality or education. Here’s a dude who lied to and impregnated her sister and wasn’t begging for marriage (as far as he knew)…

*

Weird as it might be when it comes to some of the character reactions, it is for the most part a decent and lovely story about following your heart and being your own person despite the society’s and family’s dictation and having to suffer through the consequences – as well as the consequences of bad timing and bad luck.

It’s well worth a watch if you love tragic love stories that has some believable obstacles and good actors. And yes, I’ll go the shallow route here and admit I don’t exactly blame Gaenor for not controlling herself. Ioan Gruffudd is his usual gorgeous self in the movie, and his character (especially before we saw his timid, conflicted side) was quite lovely.

Made in 1999, written and directed by Paul Morrison. Was nominated for Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film – though the majority of the film is in English, realistically there’s also Yiddish and Welsh.

 

 

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: drama, Ioan Gruffudd, ioan gruffudd solomon and gaenor, Nia Roberts, paul morrison, romance, solomon & gaenor, Solomon and Gaenor, Solomon and Gaenor 1999 movie, Solomon and Gaenor cast

Pavilion of Women starring Willem Dafoe, Luo Yan and John Cho: A Cheesy but Lovely Romantic Drama

Posted on August 7, 2013 Written by ripitup

Share

pavilion of women-willem dafoe
Pavilion of Women image via silverdisc.com.

 

Pavilion of Women Story

Madame Wu (Yan Luo) is from a wealthy, important family in pre-World War II China. Although she has a somewhat modern mind, she’s embraced her traditional roles, and is in the process of finding her husband a second wife “because she wants to retire”. Despite the objections and disgust her modern-thinking son Fengmo (John Cho), she settles on a nice, naïve girl who seems a lot more age-appropriate for Fengmo.

Enter Father Andre (Willem Dafoe) who works at the orphanage, is great with kids and is a modern, knowledgeable man. He first impresses (and shocks) Wu and her friends, when he saves the life of Wu’s friend during childbirth. Then Wu hires Andre (who insists on his payments be whatever the kids at the orphanage need) to tutor his son. She later joins his lessons herself, and becomes further impressed with his way of thinking.

As they get to know each other, a strong mutual attraction grows.

Add her son’s feelings for his father’s bride and the war, and things get way too complicated and dangerous for these three characters.

Based on the novel of Pearl S. Buck, adapted to screen by Yan Luo and Paul Collins. Directed by Ho Yim in 2001.  

On Society, Traditions and Relationships

This blog features a series of post on movies where I think cheating is OK (something I don’t support in real life, but the movies in question feature some extraordinary stories and circumstances), and this movie does belong there as I totally approve (and understand) Wu’s falling for Andre (I mean it is a wonderful human being played by the ever lovely Willem Dafoe).

But as outrageous as the idea of a man getting a second wife might seem to a feminist (as in I believe both sexes are equal and one sex having more power/authority/privileges pisses me off to no end), but I think it is a great way to stop having sex with your obnoxious husband. In a time where you don’t get to choose or do much as a woman, and when/if you are not exactly happy with the man you are married to, this seems more like a solution that a problem.

Although, unlike Wu, I’d so find a girl I didn’t like to marry my husband. I mean the “other” wife was so sweet and innocent.  Poor girl. Getting a woman to marry that man would be a sweet revenge.

Of course the core values of the society are questionable. Like not letting a man near a pregnant woman would almost kill both the woman and her baby, Wu’s not initially approving her son’s feelings for his father’s new bride (as if that was the more unnatural thing), saving face being more important than anything, letting the poor kids suffer because they are not yours….The list goes on.

The Movie: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Wu is a wonderfully flawed character that gets on your nerves as much as gets you to root for her. And just like Wu, while being pretty flawed, it has its charming points.

The Good:

  • Willem Dafoe
  • All concepts covered – love, individuality, tradition vs. free will, religion, cultural differences vs. universality of feelings, friendship, education- the irony on how the poor kids got to have a better education…
  • John Cho, though his character could have been more screen time with his romance

The Bad:

  • The exaggerated acting
  • The horribly overdone and overly loud music

The Ugly:

  • The husband (yikes!)
  • The mother-in-law (yikes!)

“The Bad” turned off a lot of movie fans. Some watched it in the “so bad it is good category”. I would have enjoyed the movie more with more natural acting and Chinese (maybe even without subtitles!). And then there’s the music department that thought they were shooting an opera. The opera fits where Dafoe’s character plays it- the rest of the time it gives the movie a soapy feeling.

But I loved Dafoe’s lines, the conversations between him and Wu, the personality of the son, and how well hypocrisy is shown…

Worth Watching?

So despite the things I could barely stand, I still like this movie. For one thing, I’ll give anything with Willem Dafoe a go, a habit I gained after watching The English Patient. People who consider Dafoe a bad actor do baffle me. I mean sure, each to his own, but Dafoe? Bad? Really?

I recommend the movie if:

-You want to check out Dafoe in a romantic role.

– You like seeing where characters grow, learning to overcome double standards and hypocrisy.

– You enjoy absolute contrasts between characters and cultures.

*

Sometimes you like cheesy despite yourself. For some people it’s Titanic. For some it is Notting hill. I choose to use my it’s cheesy but I like it anyway” card for Pavilion of Women (didn’t care for neither Titanic or Notting Hill.)

It could and should have been much better, but it is still fun it is own, weird, overdone way. And no, I probably wouldn’t have watched it till the end, had it not been for Dafoe…

 


Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: drama, ho him, John Cho, Pavilion of Women, pavilion of women cast, pavilion of women movie, pavilion of women movie plot, pavilion of women movie review, pearl s. buck novel adaptation, romance, Willem Dafoe, willem dafoe pavilion of women, Yan Luo

Captives starring Julia Ormond and Tim Roth: Romantic & Sexy

Posted on December 29, 2012 Written by ripitup

Share

 
Captives starring Julia Ormond and Tim Roth
Captives image via moviepostershop.com.

Rachel (Julia Ormond) is a beautiful dentist who also works part-time in a prison. She’s having a difficult time as she’s splitting from her cheating husband and selling their house.

During her prison clinic hours, she meets one of the inmates, Philip (Tim Roth) and they form a connection. She later runs into him outside the prison as he’s nearing the end of his sentence and is allowed to spend a certain amount of time outside. As the attraction grows between them, she can’t decide if she should just go with the flow or be reasonable. But she knows that Philip will be risking more than she does and she starts being with him.

Of course there’s a lot at risk: her job, his freedom and the question lurking at the back of her mind: what was his crime?

And as they soon realize, getting found out by his inmates might prove to be a lot more dangerous than being found out by the authorities…

*

Captives is a romantic/drama/crime film from 1994 that could have easily turned into an overacted and overdone film in Hollywood. But luckily, this English film doesn’t overdo anything, except maybe the characters of Colin Salmon and Mark Strong– but then again, the whole point of their existence is to jeopardize Philip and Rachel, and to annoy us to no end.

It’s also interesting to be rooting for the criminal to get the girl. Oh, his character is cool and extremely likeable and their relationship is a wonderful combination of passion, connection, attraction, tenderness and surprise – but the guy isn’t innocent. And his crime isn’t something you can digest easily- he didn’t go avenging the murderers of his child (like in Death Sentence, Edge of Darkness) or go all Robin Hood or something. And yet even after we learn it, I still want the relationship to go on. I’m calling this the Tim Roth effect.

Nope, I don’t go for bad guys. And that’s the point. He has one black spot in a whitish character, and even though that black spot is horrific, you totally get how it could have happened, and how come Rachel could have accepted it. Actually, his case could have been an episode of an American legal series where he’d get off with the temporary insanity defense…

It also has the only romantic bathroom (and by that I mean a stall in the ladies room in a bar) sex scene I’ve ever seen in a movie. Yes, it is in the bathroom. And it isn’t sleazy, it is sexy as hell and it is ultimately very romantic. Apparently romantic bathroom sex is no longer an oxymoron.

Then there is this intense level of chemistry and innocence that Julia Ormond and Tim Roth bring to their roles that make it all the more watchable.

It is good. It has its slow moments, but I buy the romance and it is what really matters. Buying a story you thought you’d never buy.

 

Also on Julia Ormond:

3 Movies with “Tristan” Protagonists feat. Legends of The Fall, Stardust, Tristan & Isolde

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear

Also on Tim Roth:

Arbitrage starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth

Share

Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: buy captives dvd, captives, captives 1994 movie, captives 1994 movie review, captives dvd, colin salmon, drama, julia ormond, Julia Ormond captives, Mark Strong, romance, Tim Roth, tim roth captives

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • …
  • 37
  • Next Page »

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

Copyright © 2025 · Focus Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT