Love and Other Disasters

Starring: Brittany Murphy, Matthew Rhys, Catherine Tate, Santiago Cabrera, Elliot Cowan, Will Keen, Orlando Bloom (cameo), Gwyneth Paltrow (cameo)
Directed by: Alek Keshishian
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Romance
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A professional woman (Brittany Murphy) lives in London, looking for love, and helping her gay roommate (Matthew Rhys) search for his true love. When she befriends a fascinating Argentinian man (Santiago Cabrera), she starts to rethink some of her beliefs about love.

Review:

Tim: I really worked hard to see Love and Other Disasters not as the film I wanted it to be, but as the film that it was. As far as romantic comedies go, this one is fairly lightweight and forgettable. I know people who have watched this movie, and a year later, could remember nothing about it. I feel like in a few months from now, I will also have a hard time recollecting the events of the movie. There is just no staying power here, and even the strong moments are only strong relative to the genre. This is a flawed, throwaway movie- and yet, there are quite a few things to like. Instead of just dismissing this film, I was able to recognize some of its strengths. This is not a good movie, but if you are willing to work at it, you'll find certain aspects enjoyable.

I did enjoy the modern romance aspects of this film. While I didn't agree with all the film's statements on love and life, I appreciated the contemporary view of the movie. This is truly a modern film, mixing straight and gay relationships, while also meditating on what love and relationships look like in today's world. The film moves at a very quick pace, and offers enough humorous moments to keep the film interesting.

I am willing to bet much of the audience's response to this film depends on the performance of Brittany Murphy. If you look at her role and see the terrible, odd accent and the moments of weak acting, then you will probably hate the film. If you enjoy her bubbly energy and her radiant smile, then you might actually like it. As often is the case, I fell somewhere in the middle. I admit I was stunned and confused by Murphy's weird, unique accent. I know the film explained it, but it wasn't satisfactory to me. I still puzzled at it every time she opened her mouth. On the other hand, I appreciated the energy she brought to the role. She worked hard to make this more than just a forgettable film. While she might not have succeeded, I certainly appreciated the effort.

I also thought certain members of the supporting cast were good. I loved the performance of Matthew Rhys. I don't know anything about him, and I believe this is the first time I have seen him on film. However, I was captivated by his entertaining, nuanced performance. Certainly, he has a few weak moments, but I felt like those were more a result of the script than of his acting ability. I believe he has talent, and I think he was the perfect choice to play this role. He interacted well with Murphy and the rest of the cast, and much of my enjoyment of the film is due to him. I also really appreciated Santiago Cabrera in this film. Cabrera's performance would be easy to dismiss as a lightweight romantic comedy role. However, I thought he brought much needed charisma and fun to the role. While being reserved, I thought he was able to impact the film in big ways. I found myself really enjoying his performnace. He worked well with Murphy and Rhys. I did not expect to enjoy Rhys and Cabrera as much as I did, and it helped this movie immensely. I will also quickly mention that Catherine Tate was awful. Her performance was annoying and way too over-the-top. Her character was written purely for comedic relief, and it did not work. The combination of weak writing and a bad performance by Tate greatly hurt this movie.

Love and Other Disasters tries very hard to be better and smarter than the average film in the romantic comedy genre. It actually got close to achieving that goal. There are certain moments that I found truly enjoyable. I was laughing out loud at the Fart Theory scene, and there were several twists and turns that- while not completely unexpected- were welcome shifts and twists that kept the movie interesting. Also, I have to admit I enjoyed the Gwyneth Paltrow/Orlando Bloom cameos. However, despite a host of strengths, the film also suffers from being too cliched in certain areas. Its strengths worked well in the moment, but after the end of the film, were too unmemorable to make mch of an impact. I did enjoy parts of this film, but sadly, the weaker aspects prevented this film from truly emerging from the pile of other disappointing romantic comedies.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Dead Girl, Little Black Book, Uptown Girls, Just Married