Marcas’s Review Blog

The next time I see Zach Helm’s name attached to a film, that’ll be good enough for me to go and see it.

Emma Thompson is cast with type, but she is the emotional core of the film, I think, despite the love story elsewhere, and it’s great to see a real face (have you seen Jane Fonda recently?.. ugh!). Will Ferrell, I’ve never seen his (more goofey?) films like Elf, he was good in this but I do think he needs to thaw out a bit - maybe it’s the deep, close-set eyes, and if so then that’s unfair of me. And after Secretary, I just like Maggie Gyllenhaal, so there, and I defy any male to contradict me. As for Dustin Hoffman, well, he seems to be autopiloting through every film I’ve seen him in lately.

The ending is perhaps a bit predicatable, but this is not film noir and you were never lead to believe differently. Beyond that ‘twould only spoil it for you... bring your brain!