Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare
Cinematic Sommelier
7.7
Turns out all of those unknown number calls and texts over the years could have been the love of my life… dammit! I knew it!
In all seriousness, this film is amazing. And not just because Celine Dion kills it. Intrigue, genuine chemistry, and a magnificent story takes this film from insane to incredible. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll think that woman you chatted with walking out of the theater could have been the one… Two thumbs up from Brett.
7.2
A feel good sequel to one of my favorite Boomer Bait films of the 2010’s. And of course, they’re going global! You go to Italy, and you know you have to run into a long lost love. “Letters to Juliet” told us so. If I ever travel to Italy, I expect to run into the Italian foreign exchange student I had a wonderful time getting to know my junior year of high school. If not, my love of film has been all for naught!
Friendship and fun. That’s what you expect and it’s what you get a lot of from this film by the time the credits roll. A perfect match of expectations and execution.
7.2
I swear Netflix sometimes makes these movies in a way that they set the mood for the couple watching them, but then don’t pay attention to the second half of the movie because they figure you’re not watching anyways… (bow chicka wow wow).
Anywho… this one’s a safe bet, by the numbers rom-com. You can’t miss with Kutcher, Witherspoon, and the red menace who has a death grip on this genre. Prepare yourself for listening to The Cars Greatest Hits for 2 hours.
7.7
Toe pick!
Well, this one gave me some flashbacks… but are they really flashbacks if you still know the person and still bicker like “the old days?” I digress…
This movie is quirky and a bit cheesy, but perfect in its own weird way. It’s a fantastic feel good rom-com with so many one-liners I couldn’t keep track of them all through the laughter. The story isn’t anything to necessarily write home about, but the cast is perfection, and skate the thin ice between good-bad and just bad like professional figure skaters. A Herculean task that they rise to and exceed. So lace up your skates and sit in on a tight hour and a half of fun with this one!
7.1
Gotta be careful of those hometown bar run-ins… all sorts of trouble.
I was of course all-in, as I am with any project that includes Alison Brie. For obvious reasons. 😍
The film itself was pretty par for a course. A cute love story, some hilarious hijinks. Golf course streaking. A surprise “Community” cast reunion between Abed and Annie. Everything you could want from a rom-com most couples probably won’t finish this February holiday season. Ending on “Semi Charmed Life” was a great touch, director… Dave Franco?!? Wow. Did not see that coming.
Here’s to hoping your Valentine’s Day isn’t as awkward as this movie. ❤️
Brett Garten, Movie Extraordinare 