I picked up this movie for £3 in a sale somewhere, so I wasn't exactly expecting much from it. It got shit reviews (the ones I read anyway) but I don't tend to listen to what the magazines tell me, so I gave it a go. However, optimism was not a word I would have used. How wrong I was.
It's basically a group of people all suffering some kind of minor emotional breakdown. There's the main storyline with Braff about a guy terrified his best years are passing him by, and wants some excitement before he commits totally to his beautiful pregnant girlfriend. He meets a wayward young student (I couldn't stop thinking, OMG! SUMMER!) and nothing goes to plan. There's a guy who leaves his wife and baby, a (quite cute and rugged) guy who decides to go to South America after he loses his girlfriend and then his Dad, and their hairy sex-addicted friend who agrees to go with him. Then you see the Jacinda Barrett character's parents marriage falling apart, her affair being revealed, etc. Think a feature-length, Americanized Eastenders, really.
And I loved it. I think Rachel Bilson's performance got sold short; she managed to act really young, really immature and somehow, really attractive. She embodied the impulsive, exciting thing that Braff's character thought he wanted, and she was sexy (although, I thought, a little bit stalker-y in parts!) I bet a lot of people wanted him to end up with her; but I liked it that he left her. He loved his girlfriend, and even though he wanted Kim, he wouldn't let himself have her again. It was chivalrous; it was cute, in a twisted way; and it was real.
I think Zach Braff deserves some credit as a serious actor, too; people refuse to accept anything he does that isn't Scrubs (which I love, by the way) so he didn't get much praise for this movie, but I found him very moving. The part where he sits on the porch for three days certainly made me cry- it reminded me of that song by The Script (Gotta stand my ground, even if it rains or snows/ If she changes her mind this is the first place she will go) and I couldn't believe that JD was making my eyes prickle with tears.
Oh, and this film totally deserves some credit for a quality soundtrack. Two of my favourite songs are on it, which I suggest you go and download now- Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap, which is possibly the most perfect slice of synth pop ever, and Warning Sign by Coldplay, who are usually really boring but managed to pique even my interest with the gorgeous song.
Overall, I'd say four out of five- because it didn't change my entire philosophy on life. But it made me smile, and it made me cry, and it amused me all the way through. And I want to kick Jacinda Barrett for being so pretty. Even playing a lesbian in Bridget Jones 2 can't take that away from her. Bitch.
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