"Leap Year" Review by Spaldy

Starring: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode

Directed by: Anand Tucker

Written by: Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont

I’ll admit that I was biased against this movie from the first time that I saw the trailer. In theory, a movie that takes place entirely in Ireland is an ideal way to spend 90 minutes. This is especially true if it is a romantic comedy that is half road trip and half colorful locals. However, the old romantic comedy plot device of up tight New Yorker meets gruff and bitter small town guy has been done to death. And worse, a majority of those stories were poorly executed. So even before the movie began to play, I was a bit weary. In my favor though, I had a rough week and was cheerfully looking forward to a little cheesy comedic escape.

The story is simple: New Yorker Anna (Amy Adams) has been dating her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) for four years. When Jeremy plans a special anniversary dinner that does not include a proposal, a frustrated Anna decides to take matters into her own hands. Based on an Irish tradition employed by at least one woman in her family, Anna decides to meet up with Jeremy in Ireland while he is there for a conference and propose to him on leap day. As you can imagine, Anna's travel plans do not go smoothly. In the vein of of a light weight "Romancing the Stone," Anna meets up with a grumpy man in Ireland named Declan (Matthew Goode) who resents her but desperately needs her money. The two set off for Dublin so that Anna can propose to her boyfriend, and Anna and Declan begin to bicker from the time they first set eyes on one another.

Though a fan of both Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, there is only so much they can do to spruce up a romantic comedy. This is especially true when the direction is as awkward as the direction throughout this movie. There were extra tight close ups when the shot called for a less intense angle, and there were long shots in a scene that required more intimacy. The direction also bounced between a hand held reality feel and something more akin to a travelogue.

On top of the direction was the weak script. There were a few genuinely good moments, but few were because the writing was good. It seemed as if most of the jokes had been recycled from a cheesy cable movie as if no one would have had the intense feeling of déjà vu as they sat threw the viewing like I did. Adams and Goode seemed to be working overtime to do what they could, but there simply was only so far the cast can go to bail out the ship. Though Adams and Goode had chemistry, the writing does not give you much of an inkling as to why they would remotely care for one another. Sure the old romantic comedy adage is that opposites attract but in this instance, it just did not seem like a rational conclusion. The only reason the audience can buy into the story is because Goode and Adams did have chemistry. So my hats off to them for trying to make this thing work.

There is something to be said for the fact that the movie takes place 98% of the time in Ireland and 98% of the dialogue is said with an Irish accent and yet I still felt compelled throughout most of the movie to wonder how much longer I would have to sit through it. I can easily find something positive to say about almost any movie, but I was having great difficulties thinking of things as I sat in that theatre. Perhaps under a different director with another pass made on the script then there could have been something good here. The casting was good and the simple plot a nice one, but there just wasn’t any meat to the tale. The movie felt lifeless and unfinished, like a rough cut or quilt one started sewing in the 8th grade. You can hope it will turn out fine, but neither one of those things will improve unless you work on it.

Unless you are home sick with a broken heart or just need a cheesy little film after a bad week, then I would not give this movie a look. If you do, keep your expectations low and your blood sugar skyrocketing with the euphoria of a sugary treat high.