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Rating:  -
Ashton & Emma nearly prevail in this fairly light-weight and not-quite-funny romantic comedy. He's an almost entrepreneur while she's nearly a successful photographer. They meet and nearly hit it off several times over the course of 6 years, remaining unhappy with their actual chosen mates and chosen fates until the last few minutes of the movie when more than cuteness brings them together and we all realize that true love has won out at last.
Peet is adorable, while Kutcher looks as refreshingly un-Hollywood as ever. What sinks this movie is that it's not really so much a story as a bunch of nearly linked scenes, none of them all that deep or funny. Our heroes meet but manage not to fall in love, and that's basically it. We've seen this story for years, and nobody's made a real go of it since "Harry met Sally", which was wise enough to grace our leads with witty and intelligent sidekicks. The dynamics of Peet & Kutcher's non-Romance seem shoehorned or artificially twisted to fit a screenplay which needs to keep the two apart until the final shot. The two go through years of contact and non-contact but never seem to learn anything from their encounters. (Strangely for a story that stretches over 6 years, the characters and the world they live in seem remarkably unchanged, especially given how they straddle the internet age.) The most telling scene in this flick has our leads singing along (badly at that) to a Chicago song while driving across the desert. While it's my personal opinion that it's a horrible song, it doesn't look like the characters liked the song either or were the sing-along type or even following any motivation at all - they were just acting according to movie-cute rules. They don't look like they like the song, so their singing it seems as arbitrary as the rest of the story.
Rating: -
A LOT LIKE LOVE is a clichéd supposedly romantic drama about a couple of almost-thirty-somethings that stars Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. That pretty much sums up the movie there, but I'll extrapolate.
Let's face it. Ashton Kutcher really isn't an actor. He's kind of like Tom Cruise, just a guy playing himself over and over and over again in movie after movie. These movies have different plots and are in different genres, but Kutcher's the same as he was three movies before. Granted he might have a bit more intensity in one movie or he might give off an aurora of charm in another or maybe he seems a tiny bit fragile in another, but it's still just Kutcher being Kutcher, with no real acting involved. Don't get me wrong, I like some of Kutcher's stuff--he did a decent job in THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT and he gave candid camera an edge in PUNK'D. But, until he takes some acting lessons and starts to study people who can actually act, Kutcher is always going to be Kutcher.
As for Amanda Peet, well, she's hot. However, like Kutcher, Peet really can't act and if the 10,000 articles written about her most of the characters she has played have just been herself under a different name. Usually she's cast as the beautiful babe with psychotic problems or the woman with an attitude (aka = word that rhymes with witch). Peet isn't a witch in A LOT LIKE LOVE, but her character sure could have some sort of psychological problems going on.
The plot of the movie begins on an airplane. Kutcher plays a guy named Oliver (can you believe it?) and on a plane ride from LA to New York, he meets Emily (Amanda Peet). When Oliver goes to the bathroom to tinkle, Emily sneaks in and gets him to join the mile-high club. After they get to New York they spend a day hanging out together, but after departing don't meet until years later. A couple years later they meet again, have sex, hang out, and separate. The process continues at approximately 1 ½ to 2 year intervals until Amanda, I mean Emily, realizes she love Ashton, I mean Oliver and rushes off to meet him at what she assumes is his wedding.
I guess the filmmakers were trying to make another WHEN HARRY MET SALLY for the "younger generation". I really don't like saying that because A LOT LIKE LOVE doesn't even come close to achieving the resonance and connection of WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. At least in WHMS there was some sort of consequences for the actions people made. A LOT LIKE LOVE is in-line with the philosophy of the fantasy world created on the television show FRIENDS where people could pretty much do anything without any consequences in the world.
I could go on and on, but I think the point has been made.
I had heard decent things about the film and watched the movie with as an open mind as I could. I was sadly disappointed and I think most other people will be, too. A LOT LIKE LOVE is basically a movie that a tiny segment of people, mainly female, between the ages of 11-22 will enjoy. Anyone older than that will be able to see through it for the drivel that it is.
Rating:  -
So... basically, I love love love this movie. It's become one of my favorites and it's amazing to see how a love relationship can progress over that many years and still work out, perfectly. It's like the couple was 'meant to be'. It's cute and classy and hilarious on some parts. Buy this DVD; it's extremely worthwhile.
Rating:  -
While "A Lot Like Love" has its flaws (like most romantic comedies that come out nowadays), it's not without genuine entertainment and a fun cast with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet leading the pack. The movie does a few things wrong; First it has too many cliches, like the "we'll make you think this is happening, when this is actually happening." The movie is obviously written by a guy (Colin Patrick Lynch), because a lot of this stuff falls into the realms of "guy fantasy." Besides, we can smell our own. But, the movie opens with the title card "7 Years Ago." We don't end up in the present until much later in the movie. When Oliver Martin (Kutcher) sees Emily (Peet), she's getting in a fight with her boyfriend...They make a connection via the eyes, but board the plane they're getting on to New York and that seems to be it. Then (as you'll notice, this would only happen in a guy's screenplay), Oliver goes to the bathroom and is suddenly confronted with Emily in the bathroom where they...Well, you get it. The two reunite in New York later that day and make a genuine connection with each other; At the end of the day, Oliver gives Emily his phone number and tells her to call him in 6 years.
In 6 years, he claims, his "plan" for a successful life will have panned out.
Then we get another title card, this time "3 Years Later." Now in Los Angeles, and without a date for New Years, Emily calls Oliver and the two hook up again. This time the connection is as strong as ever, but Oliver is moving to San Francisco for his internet diaper selling business. They have a one-night stand and the next day, Oliver is gone. Now, "Two Years Later."
Oliver has a hot girlfriend, but his business hasn't gotten off its feet yet. He runs into Emily at her apartment (she has now become a successful photographer, after he left his camera with her) and the connection now is very apparent. Anyway, you can basically where I'm going with this. The movie is only 107 minutes, but it packs enough stuff in here to fill a 3-hour movie. I have to say, this movie has one of my favorite romantic-comedy scenes of all time. Kuthcher singing Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There for You" very off-key in order to win the heart of Peet. It's cool. This movie had a scene towards the end where it should've ended, similar to the Uma Thurman rom-com "Prime." But it decided to continue and ended up with the cheesy ending. But if you want quick and unsatisfying flashes of a nude Amanda Peet and a cute romantic comedy that will keep you entertained..."A Lot Like Love" is damn near perfect...In that sense.
GRADE: B
Rating: -
This is one of the best romantic comedies I've ever seen. Too many others of these movies contain too much bathroom humor (of one kind or another) and references toward sex. It's enough to make you sick! A Lot Like Love has only a very small amount of this. Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet just work so well together in this film and there is something about them that just seems right. Something that holds you captive, like a helpless paper clip to a magnet! Perhaps it is the naturality of how they interact with each other. Maybe it is because they fit so well into every scene and scenario this movie has to offer up. And, not to mention, they are really adorable together! Anyhow, to put it shortly, whoever decided to put these two as the leads made a good decision; the feelings they exude are all very much alive and with the way Ashton and Amanda play off eachother you'd think they'd been friends for years before A Lot Like Love. From the moment their eyes first met you KNEW, and I think they did too, that some awesome force was about to rock their world! Their cute sparring and playful flirting are so much fun to watch and each time one does or says something goofy, you die laughing alongside them. Take the car scene where they are stuffing their faces with cheetos and pie; the looks on their faces are priceless and Amanda is laughing so hard you think she might choke! They are having such a blast and none of their laughter is in any way a cheesy staged act. Another priceless and incredibly sweet scene is their night in the national park (I didn't say this had NO inappropriatness...just a little! And it's easily overlooked by how real-feeling Ashton and Amanda make this scene seem.) If you're up for laughs and some good natured romance this is the film for you. Even the guys will like it!
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