Well, firstly, kudos for a pretty good film about two misfits uniquely fitting together like puzzle pieces, but would be truly lonesome without each other.
But performances were sometimes overdone for the leading characters and always overdone for some minor characters- namely Andrew the lawyer and the housekeeping members- and laughter and pleasure endorphins were not consistent throughout the viewing experience.
There were moments of laughter, but they only came intermittently and there were definite lulls in the storyline, moments for the mind to wander, to wonder about the plausibility of this all, admist the silliness. So there is the comedy. As for the romantic, it was there, but leans towards the Hallmark variety. For example, one of the most aww-inducing bits regarding Henrietta and the "Alsophila grahami" dedication was performed in such cliches and predictability that it felt cheapened.
This is one of debut director Elaine May's only leading roles, and it might be a good thing. Not to say her performance was not good enough. On the contrary, it was so good that audience members might be fully distracted by how vexing it is to watch her. Indeed, both leading characters vacillated between extremely aggravating and endearing. Walter Matthau was a ball to watch, as expected. But even his character is closer to hamny, especially near the end of the film.
As for the ending, it lacked finality, even considering a romantic comedy can only provide so much. We do not seem to know for sure what Henrietta knows about Henry's original motives. Some audience members will not care, for Henrietta certainly doesn't seem to. Their marriage is left to audience interpretation, and others will interpret it as disturbingly uneven, and therefore dishearteningly flawed.
All in all, a fernfully flawed fun film!
But performances were sometimes overdone for the leading characters and always overdone for some minor characters- namely Andrew the lawyer and the housekeeping members- and laughter and pleasure endorphins were not consistent throughout the viewing experience.
There were moments of laughter, but they only came intermittently and there were definite lulls in the storyline, moments for the mind to wander, to wonder about the plausibility of this all, admist the silliness. So there is the comedy. As for the romantic, it was there, but leans towards the Hallmark variety. For example, one of the most aww-inducing bits regarding Henrietta and the "Alsophila grahami" dedication was performed in such cliches and predictability that it felt cheapened.
This is one of debut director Elaine May's only leading roles, and it might be a good thing. Not to say her performance was not good enough. On the contrary, it was so good that audience members might be fully distracted by how vexing it is to watch her. Indeed, both leading characters vacillated between extremely aggravating and endearing. Walter Matthau was a ball to watch, as expected. But even his character is closer to hamny, especially near the end of the film.
As for the ending, it lacked finality, even considering a romantic comedy can only provide so much. We do not seem to know for sure what Henrietta knows about Henry's original motives. Some audience members will not care, for Henrietta certainly doesn't seem to. Their marriage is left to audience interpretation, and others will interpret it as disturbingly uneven, and therefore dishearteningly flawed.
All in all, a fernfully flawed fun film!