Alex and Emma

Date watched 18th December 2010
Genre- Romantic/Comedy
Year- 2003
Running Time- 1hr 32 mins
Directed By- Rob Reiner
Written By- Jeremy Leven
Actors- Luke Wilson, Kate Hudson, David Paymer, Sophie Marceau et al.
Acting-3/5
Keeping my attention-3/4
Visuals/Direction- 3/5
Story/Plot- 4/6
Total 13/20

Plot
Alex needs to write a book, pay off his gambling debts and win the girl of his dreams. What he hadn’t bargained for was Emma.

Alex (an author, Luke Wilson) and Emma (a stenographer, Kate Hudson) meet when Alex has 30 days to complete his novel in order to pay off his gambling debts to loans sharks. Emma is employed, much against her initial reaction to the situation, by Alex to dictate his book in order for it to be completed on time. Along the way their working relationship develops as the film moves from current day (Alex and Emma writing the book) to the story of the novel involving Adam (also played by Wilson) and his exploits on the island of St Charles as a tutor for the children of glamorous Frenchwoman Polina (Sophie Marceau). Will the novel be completed on time? And is Adam Shipley a complete work of fiction or is there more of Alex’s history in him than first meets the eye?

My Personal Views

The opening credits of this movie pretty much give you an idea of the plot of the movie. Hapless in love man and an unobtainable woman. So what makes this movie different from all the other romantic comedy films out there? What makes this different is the way the story moves between the present, where Alex and Emma are piecing together Alex’s novel, and the world that is the story of the novel, following the life of Adam Shipley and his yearning for his employer, Polina. This gist is actually quite clever and in this movie is well executed. All in all not a bad yarn and it moves quite quickly which makes it easy to sit down and watch.

I originally saw this movie on Sky many years ago but it was only in 2009 (though I might be wrong, but I could always check on my Amazon account) that I actually bought it. Just as good as I remember it all those years ago. Some of the acting and visuals are a bit lack lustre but all in all a good effort on everyone’s behalf.

Oh and some slightly dodgy visual effects. The ones at the end are a bit ‘off’ but the general concept is solid and it was filmed over 8 years ago (it’s amazing how far special effects technology has come along since then).

I will admit that it’s a little bit middle of the pile in terms of all the romantic comedies out there but it is definitely worth a watch if you like these kinds of movies. Which isn’t just girls, I lived with a guy at University was very into ‘chick flicks’, and before you even think it, he was not (and is not) gay. A score of 13 out of 20 maybe reflects that (not my flat mate liking chick flicks but that it is worth a watch).

Additional

In personal news, things are eventually on the up. My Grandpa had a scan of his lungs and the doctors think that if it is cancer then it is very small and not likely to kill him before something else does (he is in his late 80s after all), but the doctors will keep an eye on it. Also good news for my grandparents’ next door neighbour, her doctors think her cancer might be shrinking on her cocktail of drugs, it’s not a cure but it might buy her more time with her family and friends. Still wishing them all the best though.

Sorry it took so long to post this but with flu spreading through my house like wild fire over Christmas and New Year and the Holidays in general (plus my birthday!) it has been a bit of a nightmare finding any time to write.

Since watching this film, and sorry it took so long to write the review and post, Kate Hudson has announced that she is expecting a baby. Congratulations to Kate and her family.

Happy New Year to you all.
xx