So, last Monday, the day after Valentines, I sat down in yet another attempt to satisfy my weirdly persistent craving for an intelligent, amusing, dare I say original, cinematic comedy (with a bit of that romantic malarkey thrown in). The signs, based on an admitted failure to watch the trailer and a fairly brief read of the production notes, were seemingly not that bad. Maybe even a little encouraging. Ok, so the encouragement was based solely on the two leads, Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, and the still memorable enjoyment of watching them, in turn, trample revisionist fairy dust around New York in Enchanted, and attempt to rule the world whilst wearing natty superhero tailoring in Watchmen. Not to mention a little Doubt (Adams) and some more fine tailoring in Brideshead Revisited and A Single Man (Goode). But thats the problem with movie optimism, it has a tendency to bite you on the proverbial.
When her four-year anniversary with cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) goes by marriage proposal free, schedule-obsessed apartment stager Anna Brady (Adams) decides to follow the ancient Irish tradition of Leap Day that allows women to propose to their men. Of course she also has to literally follow Jeremy from Boston to Dublin in order to carry out the plan, the whole idea planted in her head by itinerant father Jack (John Lithgow in an unfathomable 5 minute cameo). Couldnt be simpler. Naturally though, airplane upsets, stormy weather, bad luck and well, Cardiff, all conspire to leave Anna on the other and wilder side of Ireland. There she finds no other travel option across the country apart from the surly, laid back chef/publican Declan (Goode) and his comedically classic Renault. Yes, theyre polar opposites, abrasively antagonistic and well you know where this trip is going. So far, so It Happened One Night, with the 21st century and a bucket of whimsical emerald green. Now theres nothing wrong with following a classic boy meets girl, boy hates girl and visa versa but fate conspires storyline, however relying on a tried and tested standard seems to create some kind of production malaise; a short-hand laziness. For every When Harry Met Sally, we get a sack full of The Ugly Truth, What Happens in Vegas and The Proposal, and sadly Leap Year basically gets thrown in the bag with them.
The writers, Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, inspired by a news story about Leap Day apparently had the outline set in a couple of weeks, a quick sale to Spyglass, and a completed screenplay (and Amy Adams) all wrapped up lightning fast. Thats not to say something classic cant be created in a fortnight Paul Schrader poured out Taxi Driver in a two week frenzy but it beggars some belief that a production team variously involved in Wanted, A History of Violence, The Hangover and yes, Just Friends, didnt take a few moments of clarity and see the generic, stereotypical blueprint in front of them. (Ok, the Taxi Driver comparison is a little unfair unless dates in a porno theater and Mohican-adorned bloodshed make your heart go all-a-flutter.) Which is where the real frustration lies because just a few tweaks, perhaps a little bit of left-field Mike Tyson and a tiger plotting, and a lot less of the peculiarly adamant view of isolated Ireland as being populated by either the twinkly charming, the old and daft, or the old, daft and drunk, would have at least created a satisfyingly inoffensive laugh. We do get some glimpses of the younger population but theyre either criminal (and given a good kicking), or being married and having a bit of a folksy riverdance. Ive been to Ireland and even Im starting to be convinced that the entire island drinks Guinness, plays the fiddle and does a jig at any given opportunity. There are actually a few laughs amidst all the mawkishness, mainly down to the acting through-line of Matthew Goode who manages to retain his charm with a slightly wobbly brogue. At one point he manages a grin that actually looks slightly demented and totally winning; if only that signalled a character turn into a Dexter-like homicidal mania, and a third act of trying to dispose of Amy Adams new-found inability to spot humour on the printed page. If all this sounds a little harsh for what is supposed to be a bit of Saturday night fluff then you might have a point, I doubt the film-makers were honestly looking further than a bit of box-office, or towards the sparkle and lights of awards season. But this production mantra that you just need to try and create something that passes muster, that the audience, sucker-punched in the rom-com milieau for the past few years will just sit back and let it wash it over them, deserves a little critical bile. Leap Year is released on February 26th in the U.K.
Film writer, drinker of Guinness. Part-time astronaut. Man who thinks there are only two real Indiana Jones movies, writing loglines should be an Olympic event, and that science fiction, comic book movies, 007, and Hal Hartley's Simple Men are the cures for most evils. Currently scripting.
