|
 Comedy
evolves; pacing and material are subject to their age. The jokes that
cracked up the Neanderthals, had ‘em rolling in Ancient Greece, or got
giggles from the Pilgrims probably wouldn’t raise a chuckle today. We
have more recent evidence of this statement with those snapshots of time
known as the motion picture. The temperaments and subject matter that
made Wheeler and Woolsey stars would be hard-pressed to go up against
the breakneck wackiness of Monty Python or the Zucker Brothers. So it
goes with The Dilemma, by director Ron Howard. Unfortunately for
Howard, who made the hilarious Night Shift {1982}, as well as the
slightly awkward in hindsight Gung Ho {1986}, the excellent
Parenthood {1989} and the unintentionally comical Angels and
Demons {2009}, it seems his taste for slower, more thoughtfully
conceived fare isn’t necessarily the best mix for a farce that bears
decidedly more madcap, Apatow-nian trappings, or at least should have
done.
The
dilemma in question is the one no BFF ever wants to face; what if you
find out your best bud’s mate is cheating on them? On the verge of what
could be their biggest business deal, Ronny is put in the position of
having to break his partner Nick’s heart by telling him his wife is
playing around with a young, tattooed bohunk, or keeping it to himself
until the contract is settled. Turning himself inside out over what to
do, Ronny’s own happiness is threatened when the pressure of the
decision makes for some sudden, crazy behaviour that has his own lady
suspicious that Ronny might’ve have fallen into bad old habits.
That’s
it, that’s the whole plot. One would have to do a lot of work to make a
meal out of this threadbare and tired premise. Luckily for Howard he’s
got Vince Vaughn as his lead; he of the rapid fire motor-mouth whose
off-hand pop culture references and innate pacing can breathe life into
the most stagnant of clunkers. Vaughn has a lot of work before him on
The Dilemma, which except for a few genuinely funny bits, never takes
off or hits a stride. A good idea was the pairing of Vaughn with fellow
funnyman Kevin James, who I’m convinced is the lovechild of Fred
Flintstone and Barney Rubble. James is so cuddly and sweet that even
when his Nick loses his temper at Ronny, you just wanna pat him on the
head and pinch his chubby cheek. While not as symbiotic as the duo of
Vaughn and Jon Favreau in Swingers {1996}, Vaughn and James trade
off each other well with James buffering any brittleness from Vaughn’s
endless patter. Vaughn’s rat-a-tat style doesn’t work so well coming
from James, however, and midway through an attempt -- an analogy about
how married life was like stew and Ronny’s singledom was more like ice
cream that ended up in a car crash -- nearly stops the film cold. As
does any time the movie tries to get sentimental about its romantic
relationships, which is way too often, way too long throughout the last
act.
Black Swan’s Winona Ryder continues her cinematic comeback as
Nick’s cheating wife; another witchy character and a thankless role
that’s beneath her. Speaking of thankless roles, Jennifer Connolly is
wasted as the love of Ronny’s life, as she has to do is stand there and
look confused -- though what was confusing to me was why they cast two
actresses who looked so similar? Connolly and Ryder could be sisters.
Queen Latifah has a weird but funny bit role as a new business partner
whose sexually inappropriate repartee gives Nick and Ronny some
misgivings. Nearly all the humour in The Dilemma is built on
misunderstandings; a device even sitcoms rarely use these days, which
tells you how stale the foundation of the movie is. The proceedings are
so stodgy and warmed over that one wonders if Howard can keep up with
the faster pace and fresher situations that today’s audiences, fed on a
steady diet of Judd Apatow and Will Ferrell expect from today’s comedy?
The
Dilemma for audiences is whether they would appreciate this slight,
threadbare film but for the indefatigable energy of Vince Vaughn?
~ The
Lady Miz Diva
January 14th, 2011
© 2006-2022 The Diva Review.com |
