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A Fox release. Written by Jeff Nathanson; directed by Peyton Reed; starring Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger. Released to DVD on October 7, 2003. 
Following in the footsteps of Todd Haynes’ Douglas Sirk homage, Far From Heaven, director Peyton Reed (Bring it On) takes a stab at recreating the delights of frothy late ‘50’s-early ‘60’s romantic comedies like Pillow Talk and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? with the bouncy Ewan McGregor-Renée Zellweger battle-of-the-sexes trifle Down with Love. This airy confection, made with an unerring devotion to production design authenticity, ably replicates the drenched-in-pink décor, double entendre-infused verbal sparring, and atmosphere of effervescent giddiness that characterized the short-lived genre, and both McGregor and Zellweger are game to blithely romp around this wholly artificial environment. But despite Reed’s meticulous attention to detail, one can’t help but wonder: What’s the point of making such a film in the first place? Zellweger is Barbara Novak, the publishing world’s latest sensation thanks to Down with Love, a smash hit in which she teaches women to find success, happiness, and empowerment by forgoing love in favor of career advancement and casual sex. With women across the country eagerly subscribing to Novak’s brand of pseudo-feminism, men begin to panic, and one dashing hunk– McGregor’s suave, caddish Catcher Block, the star writer of America’s premiere men’s magazine Know–devises a plan to turn the tables on Novak. As one can correctly surmise from the premise, it’s not long before the two begin falling in love with each other. With his debonair outfits and full-toothed smile, McGregor is a perfect fit as Catcher Block, a man surprisingly consumed by love. McGregor is ably matched by Zellweger’s alluring Novak, a strong-willed woman whose ideology is no match for the feelings of love stirring in her heart. Working from a script by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake, Reed plays things so archly that the film begins to feel like one big pointless wink to the audience. A movie this brazenly campy doesn’t need to reemphasize the joke, since the film reveals itself as a self-conscious riff on all those pleasantly bland Doris Day-Rock Hudson comedies during its opening title sequence. Unlike Far From Heaven, which smoothly incorporated commentary on Sirk’s films as it simultaneously duplicated their tropes and mannerisms, Reed is merely interested in creating a reasonable facsimile of his source material in Down with Love. It’s a gimmicky, painless, and semi-amusing trip back in time, but I’d rather skip this lightweight photocopy in favor of the originals.
nicholas schager yes, it's true: Eating enough chocolate can give a person the same sensation as new love. |
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