32/365 Serious Moonlight

Starring: Meg Ryan, timothy, Hutton, Justin Long

Genre: Hard to say with a writer like Adrienne Shelly, maybe, dark romantic comedy

Discovery: I loved Waitress by Adrienne so this was an obvious choice to pick.  (She was murdered in her home in NY shortly before the Waitress came out & garnered such attention.  She wrote this and her husband/friends brought it to life in her memory.)

Summary: Very unhappily married man, Ian, tries to leave his wife for another woman (played by Kristen Bell). Instead of making it easy on him, his wife Louise, tapes him to a toilet and starts working on a way to get him to stay.  They find themselves ‘interrupted’ by lawn boy/burglar who takes control of the situation. Weirdness ensues.

First Glance: The film opens with a surprise.  Ironic twist.  Glossy but not totally ridiculous thanks to Adrienne’s wry script.  Although some of the scenario is highly suspect, you can’t help but strap yourself in and see where this crazy movie is going to take you.  Not where you think, at least, not an obvious conclusion.

Deeper Look: I try to imagine what I would feel if my lover taped me to a toilet to get me to stay with him.  Not sure I would have been super cool with it but watching this movie shows me the crazy things that some peeps can do in the name of love. You have to let down your guard & take the movie at face value. Its funny but not broad.  Crazy & desperate but at the same time you don’t hate anyone in the story.

What I Took Away from this Movie: Wish Adrienne was around to make more dry & comedic films like this.  Sad.

Final Glimpse: Good.