Alex & Emma (2003)

One of my favorites

I thought this movie was smart,funny and original.
Have seen it several times which is all I need to say as far as my tastes go.
In my top 10 lists.
June 1, 2008

Good Cast-Average Movie

Alex & Emma was a bit of a disappointment considering the presence of Luke Wilson, Kate Holmes and Sophie Marceau among others, though by no means is it a terrible movie.
An up-and-coming author finds himself indebted to Cuban mobsters for 100,000 dollars. He must come up with the money within a month or else he'll be killed. His only solution is the completion of his book, which will bring in enough money to settle the debt. The problem however, is that he's got writer's block and he hasn't even started yet. He is therefore forced to hire a stenographer to assist him in the writing. Little does he know that his life is about to change in a big way...
In short, the acting is pretty good (though nothing great), the setting is average, while the dialogues and the plot are below average.
It seems as though the actors/directors/producers got together on a whim and decided, on the spot, to make a quick and easy film for some extra cash/spending money.
Though the potential for a good movie was definitely there it fails to take off, primarily due to the writers.
In a nutshell, it's an ok movie and that's about it; no masterpiece here... 2.5 Stars
July 7, 2007

Good Remake

While it is not mentioned much, this film is an obvious remake/rethink of the Holden/Hepburn comedy "Paris When It Sizzles." This is a case of the remake being better than the original. Audrey Hepburn was always charming, but "Paris" is some of her worst, most posy, artificial acting work.
The strength of the re-write is the re-writes of "the book" (film within the film) that give Hudson the chance to do big slapstick characters. Far from deserving praise as a great actress that she got for this role, these characters were as deep as the wigs, costumes, and huge charicatures, but FUN. 100 actresses could have done it just as well, but she got the part, and she's as good as an SNL skit.

Wilson is her straight man, and is always convincing in being the messy guy who falls for the girl even though he doesn't know it. Like "Paris" this film relys mainly on the leading lady's charms. Hudson is adequate. It would have been wonderful to see someone like the hilarious Jennifer Coolidge, or the brilliant chameleon Catherine O'Hara in this role, THAT would be five stars. This ain't. November 14, 2006

Quite refreshing

Between the money-thirsty but dazzling Polina (Sophie Marceau) and the pleasant, down-to-earth Anna (Kate Hudson), what should a penniless Adam (Luke Wilson) do? This was the plot about which Alex (Luke Wilson) the author wrote a book in 30 days. His stenographer Emma (Kate Hudson), who liked a book only if the ending pleased her, often protested and steered Alex's story in the right direction.

As the plot of the book materialised, Emma's affection for Alex grew just as Adam's relationship with Anna blossomed in the book. But then Emma gradually suspected that Alex drew on his own experiences in writing and dreaded the threat of Polina, Alex's dream lover, in real life. Moreover, would the book's fruitless ending of the love triangle bear any reflection on Alex's attitude of shunning intimate relationships?

A simple plot this was. All three characters got to play dual characters - in the book and in real life. But Rob Reiner, the director(When Harry met Sally) juggled tactfully between the book's characters and Alex-Emma dialogue, making the development crisp and sharp. He also played a substantial part in the movie. Kate Hudson played superbly as a die-hard romantic - lovable, opined, decisive and non-compromising. The surprise was the dazzling beauty of Sophie Marceau, both in the book's character and as Alex's ex-lover who showed up in the end for a possible reunion. But what held this movie together was the carefully crafted words of the book, sweetened by Luke Wilson's clear and enlightening voice. Surely, the ending was predictable; yet witnessing the birth of a book, from beginning to end, with a rewritten ending somehow injected dynamicism and creative process in the movie. Not a romantic comedy of actions, big emotional ups and downs. Rather it is for those who appreciate romance in subtlety. Quite refreshing.
July 25, 2006

Not my cup of tea

I rented this movie because I like Luke Wilson and I was in the mood for a romantic comedy, but I was very disappointed. There's just about no chemistry between Wilson and Kate Hudson, and she was just terrible. Throughout the entire movie, I could practically see the acting wheels turning in her head--her portrayal as a somewhat prudish, somewhat mousy character was both unnatural and incredibly annoying. If not for her bad acting, I would have given this movie a higher rating, because it did have its funny and some sweet moments (if you can ignore the implausible plot). There just wasn't enough "good" to compete with Hudson's "bad." October 24, 2005

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