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Alex & Emma (Widescreen Edition)

Alex & Emma (Widescreen Edition)

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Tolerable schmaltz
Review: "People get hurt in books. People get hurt in real life." - Alex

Not necessarily a statement to knock your socks off, but it pretty much gives you the gist of what the movie is about.

Alex is your typical single guy. His career is at a standstill because of a bad case of writer's block but if he doesn't get his creative juices flowing he can't pay the gambling debts he owes to the two bruisers that rough him up. Enter Emma, a stenographer looking for work, who finds Alex in his apartment, which he advertised as a law office so that he could seem respectable. She's miffed by his misrepresentation but after a few witty exchanges, she takes the job. Throw in more of their interchanges whilst writing the book that mirrors Alex's real life, show what that mirror looks like in terms of early 20th century (or late 19th?) scenery, costuming, characters, etc. and, bang, you have the makings of a romantic comedy.

I did like "Alex and Emma" and felt that Luke Wilson and Kate Hudson did have an on-screen chemistry. However, the movie fell pretty flat for me after awhile. I chuckled at some of the dialogue and liked when Alex asks the question "Have you ever done your own laundry?" and it means more than what you think it does. However, I basically felt like I could have spent an hour and a half doing something else instead. For me "Alex and Emma" is not on my re-watch list.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Well written...better than most romantic comedies as of late
Review: Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some movies deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what a flick should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others

STORY: Guys owes loan sharks money that he lost while gambling. If he writes his second novel in 30 days his publisher will pay him allowing him to pay off loan sharks. He hires a stenographer to write while he dictates his novel.

MY FEEDBACK:
I thought this was an underrated movie.

The humor in the Italian Job (an action flick?!?) was actually better and had more of it, but the parts that were meant to be humorous were funny. Some of the humor people won't catch unless they are listening and looking closely...nice subtle details inlaid within the movie.

This was more of a drama than a comedy which I can see some people not liking it as much since expectations won't be met.

The feelings that develop between the two characters seemed a lot more belieable than any other romantic comedy I can think of over the last year or two.

For those that are writers, they will get an extra enjoyment out of the movie that many viewers might miss or not appreciate.

OVERALL:
It was a very well written flick with sproadic bits of humor and a lot more commentary on people who are challenged in relationships. Even if you aren't a writer this is worth watching at least once.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Sweet...!
Review: This may not be a great movie, but it is charming. I haven't seen many movies with Kate Hudson, but I have been surprised how talented she is. I especially liked the "old time" scenes, very well done! My husband and I really enjoyed watching that movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: HUDSON and WILSON MAKE "ALEX & EMMA" A MODERN CLASSIC
Review: TRUE LOVE ISN'T ALWAYS BASED ON FICTION. Author Alex (Luke Wilson) has writer's block and is completely broke. On top of that, he owes loan sharks some money, a lot of money. To turn his life around, he has to finish a novel in 30 days (or else...), so he hires a stenographer named Emma (Kate Hudson). Alex has a fine storyline, but this doesn't stop opinionated Emma from challenging his ideas. His fictional story of love seems to mirror things from reality. While the story tries to work itself out, Alex and Emma spend days (and nights) working to finish the book. Soon, we find that the characters in his novel aren't the only ones falling in love...Kate Hudson is fantastic in the film. She gracefully takes on five separate roles throughout the film (Ylva, Elsa, Eldora, Anna, and Emma), which really impressive. Luke Wilson is also likeable and amusing. The creative script continues to grasp while Rob Reiner's direction makes this film a "When Harry Met Sally..." for the 21st century. "Alex & Emma" has romance and comedy, making it enjoyable with its fun comparisons and interesting artistic views. Reiner brings us a great romantic comedy that holds the audience and proves to be not only likeable, but also respectable. Kate Hudson's portrayal of numerous characters proves she is worthy of any film that comes her way. I suggest you see "Alex & Emma." It might surprise you.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Tepid Bore
Review: Riddle me this: How can Kate Hudson release about 5 films a year, all of which flop badly, yet she's still superfamous and getting roles in more and more movies, that just keep getting worse and worse. I just don't get it. If there's anyone who qualifies as "Boxoffice Poison" these days, it's Miss Hudson.

This is the same as about 15 of the other flicks she's released since "Almost Famous": formulatic junk that is barely tolerable. Boring, slow, you just can't stand it. I keep giving her a chance, but I think this flop is the final straw. Stay away at all costs. I can't understand why this chick's terrible films keep getting all this hype. They NEVER come through at all, they are always worse than the last flop she did. It can't just be that she's Goldie Hawn's daughter. Maybe she sold her soul to Satan or something (I hope not). Maybe she will just make any film and is cheap to hire, who knows.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Trite and...
Review: BORING. I was convinced to watch a sweet romantic comedy with my wife, but even she was disappointed by this slow-moving wreckage of a movie. The basic plot facts are that an author named Alex (Luke Wilson) has 30 days to write a novel or his loan sharks will kill him. The said loan sharks have also added some difficulty to his task by burning his computer (insert your "frying the hard drive" joke here) over the stove burner.

So...in comes cute and perky Emma (Kate Hudson) as a stenographer to take notes for Luke since he apparently doesn't know how to write with a pencil. The story ends up reflecting Alex's real life, as he falls for Emma but still has feelings for a more glamorous woman.

In short, the story moves so slowly I wanted to stick a cattle prod into the TV, and there were so many formulaic and predictable twists, my eyes are still rolled into the back of my head.

Unless you are a big fan of either of the main characters, I advise you to keep your distance from this movie.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Zzzzz...
Review: Most of the film is Alex dictating in a monotonous voice a horribly boring plot to a horribly plain Emma. The apartment is hideous, Emma's hair is mousy brown, and her clothes are terrible. Alex and Emma is about as tasty as a ricecake!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I Love This Film
Review: I guess humor is subjective because I thought this movie had it in spades. I found myself laughing often. I also enjoyed not only the fact that the main character Alex was a writer, but the insight into the creative process and what might be considered metaphors for aspects of the writing life. An example? How about Alex's being dangled off a balcony by loan sharks as a metaphor for how it feels to have a deadline looming and have a block in your way? How about the frustration of being a writer who spends months, maybe years crafting a book from start to finish, carefully arranging the plot sequence, only to have a reader flip to the last page of the book first? Listen to the commentary if you want more ideas on how the movie is a metaphor for the creative process. As for Alex's cliches in his writing? He's blocked, he's on a thiry day timeline, he's got to write something, and cliches are often the first things that come to mind. It's one of the reason's it often takes a lot of editing to turn a rough draft into a publishable book. Someone asked if Alex could use a pencil instead of hiring a stenographer. He could, but he might miss the thirty day deadline because he might have trouble keeping up with his thoughts or making it neat, that is if his handwriting is anything like mine. Then he'd have to get it typed , and so why not have it typed from the start and dictate it so you don't have to worry about losing track of your thoughts? In any case, I thought this was a great movie. Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson had definite chemistry, and that I'd say is probably the most important element of any romantic film. I was really rooting to get them together, basically from the start. So do yourself a favor, give Alex and Emma a try.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant Satire.
Review: The irony here is that it takes a READER to truly appreciate this film. If you didn't like this movie, try picking up a book once in a while.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: one of 2003's worst
Review: There are few filmmakers who run as hot-and-cold as Rob Reiner. When he's cooking on all burners - as with "When Harry Met Sally" and "The American President" - he's been able to create some of the most compleat and satisfying romantic comedies of recent years. Yet, when the muses have eluded him - as with "North," "The Sum of Us" and the appalling "Alex and Emma" - Reiner has produced some truly classic stinkers, films so misguided and infamously bad as to make us wonder whether this could indeed be the same man responsible for all these different films.

"Alex and Emma" steals its premise pretty much intact from "Paris When it Sizzles," that notorious 1964 misfire that probably established a career low for both Audrey Hepburn and William Holden, two of the most likable and attractive performers of their time. In "Alex and Emma," Luke Wilson portrays a successful fiction writer in hock to some Cuban gamblers who are threatening to kill him if he doesn't pay them from the proceeds from his new - as yet unwritten - novel. After the thugs burn his computer, Alex hires a stenographer, played by Kate Hudson, to help him complete the new tome in time. The two, of course, despise each other at first, but as Alex dictates his novel to her, with Emma providing pointed criticism and helping him shape the final product, true love begins to bloom.

As with the recent "Big Fish," the story here runs along parallel tracks, as Wilson and Hudson act out scenes from the work Alex is writing - a cheap dime-store novel set in the scenic 1920's. The book is so preposterously corny, melodramatic and clichéd that we can scarce believe anyone would write such a work, let alone publish it, though we are led to believe that all sorts of people who would know better in real life stand in great awe of both the book and Alex's talents as a writer. The scenes set in the fictional world he's created, though very pretty to look at, are excruciatingly arch, coy and cloying, poorly acted and even more poorly written. Wilson and Hudson do little but play dress-up in these scenes, set completely adrift by a humorless script and directionless direction. The scenes set in "real" time are scarcely more palatable, although the actors are at least able to relax a bit and let more of their likeability shine through.

"Alex and Emma," though billed as a romantic comedy, has a true tin ear when it comes to both romance and comedy. Reiner has once again struck out in his own ballpark.


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