'STUCK IN LOVE': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
A romantic comedy-drama film about a family of writers and their complex relationships with others (involving love). It was written and directed by first time feature film writer Josh Boone and stars Greg Kinnear, Lilly Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman, Jennifer Connelly, Liana Liberato and Kristen Bell. It also features cameos by Patrick Schwarzenegger (the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously), as a school bully, and the voice of Stephen King! The film is a great examination of love and family relationships and all their ups and downs. It's an amazing film from such a young debut filmmaker (He's almost three years younger than me)!
Kinnear plays a successful writer named William Borgens. He's had several books published, and found some small celebrity status, but hasn't written at all since his wife Erica (Connelly) left him for a younger, and buffer, man (Rusty Joiner) three years earlier. He spends a lot of his nights spying on his ex-wife, and her new husband, and his afternoons sleeping with a married (younger) neighbor woman (Bell). He's taught his teenage kids, Samantha (Collins) and Rusty (Wolf), to be writers since they were newborns and Samantha has just had her first book published. She won't tell her mother about it, and hasn't talked to her in years, because she blames her for breaking her father's heart. She's also skeptical about love (due to her parents' breakup) and just hooks up with stupid guys looking for sex. That starts to change when she meets a musician and classmate, named Lou (Lerman), who has a crush on her. Her younger brother is a hopeless romantic though and has just fallen for a classmate of his at school, as well, named Kate (Liberato). Kate just got out of an abusive relationship (with Schwarzenegger) and has a drug problem but Rusty thinks he can save her.
The movie is cynical at times, especially in the beginning, but it does build to a beautiful happy ending (which I think is wonderful). When you watch movies like this you deserve a happy ending. It's filled with all of life's ugliness and negativity but also it's magic and beauty and when you suffer with characters like this (in a movie like this) you deserve a good payoff. That is the case with this movie but it still seems mostly true to life. It's got it's Hollywood moments, and everyone is just a little too good looking, but it's moving and truthfully touching as well. All the performances are great and the directing and screenplay just hit all the right notes. The soundtrack is filled with awesome and fitting songs as well. It's just one of those movies that's a real treat to watch and makes you feel good (despite it's sad moments). Boone is really a director to watch out for!
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZa4L9FExKY
A romantic comedy-drama film about a family of writers and their complex relationships with others (involving love). It was written and directed by first time feature film writer Josh Boone and stars Greg Kinnear, Lilly Collins, Nat Wolff, Logan Lerman, Jennifer Connelly, Liana Liberato and Kristen Bell. It also features cameos by Patrick Schwarzenegger (the son of Arnold Schwarzenegger obviously), as a school bully, and the voice of Stephen King! The film is a great examination of love and family relationships and all their ups and downs. It's an amazing film from such a young debut filmmaker (He's almost three years younger than me)!
Kinnear plays a successful writer named William Borgens. He's had several books published, and found some small celebrity status, but hasn't written at all since his wife Erica (Connelly) left him for a younger, and buffer, man (Rusty Joiner) three years earlier. He spends a lot of his nights spying on his ex-wife, and her new husband, and his afternoons sleeping with a married (younger) neighbor woman (Bell). He's taught his teenage kids, Samantha (Collins) and Rusty (Wolf), to be writers since they were newborns and Samantha has just had her first book published. She won't tell her mother about it, and hasn't talked to her in years, because she blames her for breaking her father's heart. She's also skeptical about love (due to her parents' breakup) and just hooks up with stupid guys looking for sex. That starts to change when she meets a musician and classmate, named Lou (Lerman), who has a crush on her. Her younger brother is a hopeless romantic though and has just fallen for a classmate of his at school, as well, named Kate (Liberato). Kate just got out of an abusive relationship (with Schwarzenegger) and has a drug problem but Rusty thinks he can save her.
The movie is cynical at times, especially in the beginning, but it does build to a beautiful happy ending (which I think is wonderful). When you watch movies like this you deserve a happy ending. It's filled with all of life's ugliness and negativity but also it's magic and beauty and when you suffer with characters like this (in a movie like this) you deserve a good payoff. That is the case with this movie but it still seems mostly true to life. It's got it's Hollywood moments, and everyone is just a little too good looking, but it's moving and truthfully touching as well. All the performances are great and the directing and screenplay just hit all the right notes. The soundtrack is filled with awesome and fitting songs as well. It's just one of those movies that's a real treat to watch and makes you feel good (despite it's sad moments). Boone is really a director to watch out for!
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZa4L9FExKY