"The Dilemma" is the exact sort of film I try to avoid seeing: It bills itself as a comedy, but the laughs are few and far between; I haven't liked Vince Vaughn in anything else except "Swingers"; I don't care for Kevin James or Queen Latifah; and the movie's basically a two-hour commercial for the Dodge Challenger. Nonetheless, when my friends dragged me to see it, I actually sort of enjoyed the movie.
The basic plot of the movie is that best-friends-since-college Ronny and Nick (Vaughn and James) run an engineering firm that is vying to help redesign the engine of the new Dodge Challenger to be more eco-friendly without losing the macho factor. Ronny is nervous about wanting to propose to his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly), and then finds out that Nick's wife (Winona Ryder) is having an affair. The next 90 minutes Ronny debating with himself on what to do with this knowledge, punctuated by some rather lame slapstick.
There are--however--plenty of redeeming features that save this film. First is that director Ron Howard--although not a master craftsman--is a capable, professional director and rarely misses a chance to insert a funny cameo from little brother Clint. Second is the script from Allan Loeb, which makes each of the four leads a believable three-dimensional character rather than some by-the-numbers cardboard cutout. And finally, there are also the performances by the two female leads: Jennifer Connelly has always been great, going back to her years as a child actor; and Winona Ryder (who I had a crush on in the early '90's and who is as beautiful as ever pushing 40) looks ready for a career comeback in her biggest role since her shoplifting conviction.
As an aside, I also want to say that there a couple of scenes with a very subtle political (pro-tea-party) undercurrent that I disagree with. However, unlike most politically aware movies since "Roger & Me", the filmmakers don't try to bludgeon the audience with their beliefs, so it doesn't detract from the film as a whole--for which I am grateful.
"The Dilemma" is not Oscar-caliber. It is not a great film. I will not buy it on DVD. It's crassly commercial and the "funny" bits just don't work. But as far as mainstream Hollywood early-year releases go, it's actually okay.
The basic plot of the movie is that best-friends-since-college Ronny and Nick (Vaughn and James) run an engineering firm that is vying to help redesign the engine of the new Dodge Challenger to be more eco-friendly without losing the macho factor. Ronny is nervous about wanting to propose to his girlfriend (Jennifer Connelly), and then finds out that Nick's wife (Winona Ryder) is having an affair. The next 90 minutes Ronny debating with himself on what to do with this knowledge, punctuated by some rather lame slapstick.
There are--however--plenty of redeeming features that save this film. First is that director Ron Howard--although not a master craftsman--is a capable, professional director and rarely misses a chance to insert a funny cameo from little brother Clint. Second is the script from Allan Loeb, which makes each of the four leads a believable three-dimensional character rather than some by-the-numbers cardboard cutout. And finally, there are also the performances by the two female leads: Jennifer Connelly has always been great, going back to her years as a child actor; and Winona Ryder (who I had a crush on in the early '90's and who is as beautiful as ever pushing 40) looks ready for a career comeback in her biggest role since her shoplifting conviction.
As an aside, I also want to say that there a couple of scenes with a very subtle political (pro-tea-party) undercurrent that I disagree with. However, unlike most politically aware movies since "Roger & Me", the filmmakers don't try to bludgeon the audience with their beliefs, so it doesn't detract from the film as a whole--for which I am grateful.
"The Dilemma" is not Oscar-caliber. It is not a great film. I will not buy it on DVD. It's crassly commercial and the "funny" bits just don't work. But as far as mainstream Hollywood early-year releases go, it's actually okay.