(All) About Adam has the makings of good dark comedy, but for some reason that is not the tone that the movie maker chose to use. Instead, an attempt was made to make a light comedy about a man who does some really ugly things. This supposed romantic comedy veers wildly into Jerry Springer territory, while seeming to assert that bad things that result in good outcomes for you are okay. Indeed, this film is wholly dependent on good outcomes for its characters. Even one bad outcome in this film would result in totally exposing how big a cad and creep Adam really is. It would also show how unsound the film's premise is.
Wild child Lucy cuts a swath through the available men that she encounters, through a series of one night stands and short-term relationships. She's a heart-breaker who engages and drops men at will, uncaring of the damage and pain that she causes. This continues until she encounters the too-good-to-be-true Adam. She is immediately smitten. Is this a movie about Lucy receiving her comeuppance for her past behaviors? No, Lucy spends the movie blissfully unaware of all of the perfidy swirling about her. And, oddly enough, in a comedy based on amorality Lucy is the only individual who seems to have a conscience. In truth, Lucy ends up being the victim.
Adam you see, is a manipulative seducer who works his way through her family,working his will on her sisters, her brother, and the brother's virginal girlfriend. Only the mother is spared, and he will probably get to her later. Why does Adam do this? We are never given an opportunity to really know Adam's motives and motivations. Instead, he serves as a cipher for others. We only get to see how others react to Adam in a Roshomon style retelling of his tale from the viewpoints of the various characters. Adam himself only offers that he has a "gift for helping others." And help them, he does. Sister Laura learns to be less repressed and to live her life experientially rather than intellectually, David is able to connect sexually with the girl of his dreams and to move their relationship on to another level and elder sister Alice re-learns sensuality and affection after a tryst with Adam a few hours before his scheduled wedding. The problem for the movie is that all of Adam's help is of a sexual nature. There are no kind words, no hand holding, and no words of wisdom--just sex. His stated desire to help is more self-serving alibi and justification than anything else.
In the film Adam is extremely charming. He spins tale after tale (lies) that put him in the best light. Improbably, people (except for Alice) eat it up. Perhaps this is his true gift. Ulltimately, this film only works as a light comedy if you can like and identify with Adam and I couldn't. He presents to me as a smooth-talker who cares little about the consequences of his actions. In the real world families are destroyed,people get divorced and are killed for activities such as these. These thoughts might not have been so prominent in my mind if the filmmaker had not made the unfortunate choice of tacking a sentimental, traditional,romantic comedy staple to the end of the film-the interrupted wedding. It does not fit into the rest of the film. The words spoken ring hollow and lack sincerity given the things that came before it. Adam is uninterested in Lucy's secrets only because his are far more egregious. It is not a discussion about the boundaries and limits of love.The final scene only makes it worse. The sense is that there will only be more of the same and no larger lessons were learned. Somewhere over the horizon the till now avoided disaster awaits them and when it strikes the last seen smile and smirk on Adams face is sure to be wiped away.
Finally, if I were a woman, I would find this film offensive. The assertion that all of a female's emotional problems, personal insecurities and dissatisfactions can be solved with a few well-placed lies and a few nights of good sex has an undertone of misogyny. Have doubts about those undertones? Make the Adam character a female instead and have her tearing through a group of brothers and see what images it conjures up for you. Neither a sex comedy nor a romantic comedy, this hybrid floats like a leaden balloon if you look at it too carefully. A charming creep is still a creep. When I look at Adam, that is what I see.
Wild child Lucy cuts a swath through the available men that she encounters, through a series of one night stands and short-term relationships. She's a heart-breaker who engages and drops men at will, uncaring of the damage and pain that she causes. This continues until she encounters the too-good-to-be-true Adam. She is immediately smitten. Is this a movie about Lucy receiving her comeuppance for her past behaviors? No, Lucy spends the movie blissfully unaware of all of the perfidy swirling about her. And, oddly enough, in a comedy based on amorality Lucy is the only individual who seems to have a conscience. In truth, Lucy ends up being the victim.
Adam you see, is a manipulative seducer who works his way through her family,working his will on her sisters, her brother, and the brother's virginal girlfriend. Only the mother is spared, and he will probably get to her later. Why does Adam do this? We are never given an opportunity to really know Adam's motives and motivations. Instead, he serves as a cipher for others. We only get to see how others react to Adam in a Roshomon style retelling of his tale from the viewpoints of the various characters. Adam himself only offers that he has a "gift for helping others." And help them, he does. Sister Laura learns to be less repressed and to live her life experientially rather than intellectually, David is able to connect sexually with the girl of his dreams and to move their relationship on to another level and elder sister Alice re-learns sensuality and affection after a tryst with Adam a few hours before his scheduled wedding. The problem for the movie is that all of Adam's help is of a sexual nature. There are no kind words, no hand holding, and no words of wisdom--just sex. His stated desire to help is more self-serving alibi and justification than anything else.
In the film Adam is extremely charming. He spins tale after tale (lies) that put him in the best light. Improbably, people (except for Alice) eat it up. Perhaps this is his true gift. Ulltimately, this film only works as a light comedy if you can like and identify with Adam and I couldn't. He presents to me as a smooth-talker who cares little about the consequences of his actions. In the real world families are destroyed,people get divorced and are killed for activities such as these. These thoughts might not have been so prominent in my mind if the filmmaker had not made the unfortunate choice of tacking a sentimental, traditional,romantic comedy staple to the end of the film-the interrupted wedding. It does not fit into the rest of the film. The words spoken ring hollow and lack sincerity given the things that came before it. Adam is uninterested in Lucy's secrets only because his are far more egregious. It is not a discussion about the boundaries and limits of love.The final scene only makes it worse. The sense is that there will only be more of the same and no larger lessons were learned. Somewhere over the horizon the till now avoided disaster awaits them and when it strikes the last seen smile and smirk on Adams face is sure to be wiped away.
Finally, if I were a woman, I would find this film offensive. The assertion that all of a female's emotional problems, personal insecurities and dissatisfactions can be solved with a few well-placed lies and a few nights of good sex has an undertone of misogyny. Have doubts about those undertones? Make the Adam character a female instead and have her tearing through a group of brothers and see what images it conjures up for you. Neither a sex comedy nor a romantic comedy, this hybrid floats like a leaden balloon if you look at it too carefully. A charming creep is still a creep. When I look at Adam, that is what I see.