I know a lot of people will assume I don’t like this film, and they’ll be expecting a rant from me, but I can honestly say this film doesn’t bother me. It’s a bit like a text message from someone you don’t particularly like: you see it, you acknowledge its existence, then you simply ignore it and go about the rest of your day. I admit it’s funny to an extent, but the funniest element has to be the fact the filmmakers saw no irony in casting Will Ferrell to play a man refusing to grow up.
Many people will try to convince you that this film is “cute” or “romantic” but I would argue that it’s actually rather frustrating. The UK has Kate Winslet, a national treasure, and in this film we see her sent to the US and replaced by Cameron Diaz, much like in a science fiction horror when a human is abducted and replaced by a soul harvesting alien clone. It’s more stress than I need over the Christmas period quite frankly. Don’t get me wrong, I love romance films, but I much prefer them when they’re well written and less self indulgent.
Adam Lester. 