★ 6 / 10
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't
Kamurai
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend. I like Simon Helberg as an actor, but there is so little about this character that makes me care…
Decent watch, probably won't watch again, and can't recommend.
I like Simon Helberg as an actor, but there is so little about this character that makes me care about him at all. And I like Melanie Lynskey, as an actor, and she's pretty too, but with Maggie Grace and her character, even from his perspective, it doesn't make any sense why there is a story here at all, he should just be with Kelsey.
I'll digress a bit, but he's just the embodiment of problems, and she's just using time invested as an excuse to keep torturing herself with a relationship she finds taxing with little benefit. Most of the movie is about how they're scared they've both sheltered themselves too much and might be making a mistake. It seems like they go and prove themselves right, and still come to an obvious and stereotypical conclusion.
None of this should be spoilers, it's a very blatant formulaic "break up because I want to know what else is out there" cliche of a movie, with all the standard features.
I'm not going to say you're wasting your time on this, but I will say that there are probably better movies out there to watch.
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★ 1 / 10
The Comedy That Feels Like It Will Never End
lavatch
"We'll Never Have Paris" was aspiring to be an old-fashioned romantic comedy that is often called "screwball" comedy. Unfortunately, the film wasn't funny, and…
"We'll Never Have Paris" was aspiring to be an old-fashioned romantic comedy that is often called "screwball" comedy. Unfortunately, the film wasn't funny, and the main problem was the lack of chemistry between the two romantic leads.
From the outset, Quinn and Devon seemed completely incompatible. He was a shy jazz musician and florist. She was a university professor. Quinn's main problem was getting up the gumption to propose to Devon. They were high school sweethearts who have now lived together for years. Yet through it all, they apparently have never discussed the topic of marriage. The filmmakers fail to squeeze any comic mileage out of this stupid situation.
The film begins with Quinn being diagnosed with an eye condition. But Quinn's problems go well beyond his eyes. He is a terrible communicator and is always putting his foot in his mouth. As Devon observes, "Your idea of self-deprecation is everybody else's idea of narcissism."
Apart from Devon's snappy line above, the dialogue was not very humorous. There was even a tacky joke made about 9/11. Devon's love of Flaubert and sophisticated culture made her a perfect fit for the French violinist Guillaume, whom she meets in Paris.
The characters in this film were poorly developed, serving as placeholders rather than actual human beings. For example, in Quinn's brief romance with Kelsey, it was never clear what exactly Kelsey, Quinn's co-worker in the flower shop, ever saw in Quinn to try to disrupt his relationship with Devon.
Devon's attempt to escape to Paris is thwarted when Quinn follows her to try to "win her back." But was never clear how Quinn actually does win Devon back. There was no attempt to portray the aftermath of the Paris scenes and why Devon did not marry Guillaume.
Overall, the film was embarrassing as a comedy, as the jokes were flat, the situations were implausible, and the characters never really connected. Yet, somehow, this film was "inspired by real events." In the making of "We'll Never Have Paris," something went terribly wrong in the translation of life into art.
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I think he does a great effort and I like his acting, but the movie just doesn't go anywhere. When it ends you just say, so that's it?.... What's for dinner?