Review: THE DILEMMA Has Plenty Of Issues

By Mark Clark / July 1, 2011

rating: 2

Someone famous once had the wit to say that all publicity is good publicity, but where Vince Vaughn€™s latest effort The Dilemma is concerned that may have seemed a little on the optimistic side. When the first trailer was finally released it€™s entire attempt at creating some semblance of what the film was vaguely about was torpedoed by a single line from Mr Vaughn implying that a certain automotive product was well, less than straight. The fact that the scene in question is more buffoonish than prejudiced didn€™t matter. To the offended masses any plot that could be gleaned from the two minute window was lost, barricaded off, buried beneath a mountain of indignant emails. Ok, perhaps masses and mountains is overplaying it a little, but you get what I mean. Starting on the back foot is never a good business plan. And to a fair degree that is an actual shame because The Dilemma is by no means a comedy failure; in fact it€™s not really a comedy at all, but what it pains me to call, a dramedy. With slapstick. And Winona Ryder.. Ironically, its trailer, behind its fug of a red-button, single line of dialogue, serves as a fair approximation of the whole. You only have to look at the cast of Vaughn, Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah, and Kevin James to book the movie shrink for a suspected case of multiple personality disorder. Lifelong buddies Ronny Valentine (Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (James) run an independent, automotive engineering firm amongst the bright lights of Chicago, and in a nicely responsible touch of environmental consciousness they€™ve developed a ground-breaking electrical engine that sounds like a Detroit muscle-car. It€™s their big break, their holy grail if they can just get Dodge to buy in. James, playing against type as a fat guy with relationship issues, is the technical €˜genius€™ and a seemingly fragile one to boot, so naturally what Vaughn doesn€™t need is anything to come along and rock the boat, but that€™s exactly what happens when in an attempt to set-up a romantic proposal for his own gal Beth (Connelly), he spies his friend€™s long-time other half Geneva (Ryder) getting smoochy with a bo-hunk musician (Tatum). Needless to say the obvious and direct route of telling your best friend what€™s going on is not on the cards as Vaughn careens from one emotionally, and physically, painful decision to another in an attempt to keep his business, domestic life, and his own sanity, on an even keel. All of it compounded by the deliberate machinations, misunderstandings, and just plain contrariness of everyone else. Admittedly that doesn€™t sound remotely funny, but this is a Ron Howard film so there was never really going to be a straightforward fun-time had by all. Just put yourself through Parenthood, or the unfortunate faux-pas€™ of Apollo 13 and you€™ll see what I mean. The attractions of The Dilemma to Howard are fairly plain to see, giving him a chance to get off the straight and obvious cookie-cutter of the multiplex and try and create a deliberately off-balance acerbic comedy; and after all, he isn€™t a complete stranger to the funny-side, Splash being one of the 80€™s guilty pleasures. The problem here though is, as Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah gave Splash its goofy charm, The Dilemma seems to put most of its comedic reliance on the alarmingly large combination of Vaughn and James (and I mean large combination) to stop the entire production becoming an overwrought drama by Paul Haggis. Vaughn, all desperation, venal wit, and the occasional fisticuffs, stumbles through like a man suddenly waking up in a parallel universe. I can€™t bring myself to use the word engaging, but no-one does the €˜everyone else is crazy€™ shtick and the free-form ramble quite like him. Even the most ardent Vaughn hater is going to suffer a crack-up during the party speech. James on the other hand seems to be in situ just to provide some good will, a reminder to the audience that he€™s been amusing in something else so play nice. He does draw the short straw, but against Vaughn€™s apparent ego that is hardly a surprise. He is the sad-sack prize being played between his friend, and his wife. Ryder as the unfaithful Mrs, and Connelly as Vaughn€™s confused, and concerned other half are the dramatic imperatives and so playing second fiddle to the men of the piece (I€™m not sure Connelly€™s even allowed a last name), but they inhabit their roles to the best of their not inconsiderable abilities. Ryder never once begging us for sympathy, and Connelly getting it all with ease. You can imagine Connelly in particular shutting out the crack-pot craziness and channelling The Dilemma€™s schizophrenia in to a literally different movie. Perhaps the one standout though, surprisingly in a Vaughn vehicle, is the unexpected comedic charm of Tatum. Playing directly to type as the good-looking dim-bulb, he manages to be both likeable and mischievous in equal measure. You almost feel he€™s been taken advantage of more than his lover€™s cuckolded other half. If the outcome of The Dilemma€™s somewhat clunky, but not entirely unenjoyable mash-up is seeing Tatum doing more of the fun stuff, and less Hasbro, I€™ll take that as a positive. The Dilemma is released in the U.K. on Friday.