The new Amy Adams-tumbles-down-an-Irish-hillside romantic comedy has racked up a slew of groaning reviews. Read the full post.
Jan 9
2010
11:34 AM ET
Amy Adams' 'Leap Year': What Hollywood gets wrong about women and marriage
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I went and enjoyed the movie for what it was, a predictable plot with some fun and laughs. Scenes of Ireland are lovely to look at anytime, as is Matthew Goode in a fisherman’s sweater or anything else for that matter. Everyone in the theater around me enjoyed a lot of laughs and seemed to have a good time.
Loved the review and agree with it but being from Ireland I am going to enjoy the scenary … as cringe worthy as I know the movie itself will be!! My problem is how they sterotype all the Irish people in the trailers I’ve seen so far … be god be gorra we don’t all talk like that
The rom-coms I’ve enjoyed most over the past year or so were both written by men and focused much more on the male lead: (500) Days of Summer and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Women aren’t the only ones who can get a little desperate and pathetic in a relationship, we all act like idiots for love sometimes. Boy meets girl, everyone lives happily ever after would be a boring movie, there has to be something to drive the plot.
Just keep the cliches to a minimum. If the girl is desperate to get married, maybe she doesn’t also have to be frigid and uptight. Or if she’s a workaholic, then it would make sense that relationships aren’t her priority. Being clumsy isn’t nearly as endearing as writers seem to think, and frankly, I don’t find bodily functions romantic or particularly funny.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall was awesome.
Oh yes you mentioned one I forgot: being clumsy. How is that endearing? It just seems like cheap gags. Ha, she fell down in mud! Ha, she spilled a drink on someone important! Not as funny or clever as they think.
there was a great episode of sex and the city called the chicken dance where the girls went to a wedding, and totally ignored the bouquet when it hit one of them before leaving…perfection
I totally agree with you — I never understood why Hugh Grant fell for the self-centered, ridiculous tease when Finoa, a beautiful, smart woman for him was standing right next to him.
Oh please, everyone knows what all women really want is a fairy tale wedding with their own Prince Charming, and to go shopping.
(Sarcasam!)
In my own defense, and not in a snarky manner, they are not my entire social circle, and not my closest friends, thankfully, I’d probably go insane. Looking back at my first post, I can see the initial phrasing is stronger than I intended, so thank you for calling me on it in a reasonable manner. I did not intend to suggest, (though I freely admit my phrasing did exactly that), that this behavior is the norm. I simply disagree with the assertion that it doesn’t happen, because I’ve seen it. Not all women have a mature outlook on marriage, sadly, and I’m sure women like that eat these movies up. I admit that I do too, but it’s more of a case of schadenfreude and other guilty pleasures in my case.
I like a good chick-flick but I have never seen 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, or Bride Wars because they haven’t made it to free TV yet. Why watch these fluff movies for full price at the theater (unless you are paid to so for review) when they don’t require big screen viewing (like with Star Trek or something with big effects).
On another note, I DO have a photo from a wedding where one college-educated bridesmaid is lurching feverishly for the bouquet on top of two other bridesmaids, also reaching for the prize, plus a few ladies ducking away from the peril of both the bouquet and the eager grabbers. The belly of the bridesmaid is hanging out of her two piece dress and her face looks like Mia Hamm exerting great effort to score a goal.
My friend just laughed at this depiction of herself; as a college athlete she was probably more interested in the competition than the actual bouquet.
She later married, without desperate fanfare, and had a lovely wedding and is now raising four children with competence and grace.
Go figure.
Why does the author have to be a feminist for calling a spade a spade or highlighting the ridiculous behavior of women and the relentless depiction of this tom-foolery in Hollywood?
Having said that, women and men behave in all manner of zany shallowness at various moments in life. Watch, enjoy, or not- and exercise your right to refrain from the movie or click “off”.
also? feminist is NOT an insult. it’s appalling to me that anyone would think so.
I couldn’t agree more. Good one Karen
P.S. four weddings and a funeral is saved by the presence of Fiona AND the Matthew/Gareth romance; Andie McDowell’s character is almost unwatchable. Hugh Grant plays the same character over and over. Tom-foolery indeed.
good point,. the matthew/garreth romance is one of the highlight of 4WAF
Good call. Andie’s character is awful. She reminds me of Scarlet O’hara in all the worst ways. What a self-centered brat!
thanks this is a nice blog…i hope you continue to write and keep the blog actual..
The pathetic premise is totally insulting.
I tremble for the next generation of women, besotted with the “Twilight” quartet, my daughters included. Their desperation for a man (Edward) includes willing disembowellment and being transformed into a vampire. Yikes! Yeah I’m for dignity at any price. In real life, I do not see men finding DESPERATION an aphrodesiac.
Loved it. You’re so right. I love an occasional romcom with my gals but just the trailer turned me completely off, though i love both Matthew Goode and Amy Adams. I wanted desperately to like it but i couldn’t even give the movie a try.
I truly LOVE Amy Adams, but I have to say that this movie is the worst he has ever made, because the movie is mediocre, totally predictable and with an awkward rhythm. At the top of all, what is more uncomfortable is that you can tell when there was a change of the take because the characters appear with brushed hair or fresh make up. Also you can tell when and exterior scene was shot in a studio with the background added digitally. That was horrible. Despite that all, hello! it’s a romantic comedy… you kind of expect all kind of cliches. I found that Irish tradition something totally ridiculous as something that would motivate a woman to go ahead and propose to her fiance. If something saved the movie, that would be the chemistry between the main characters. Amy is always nice to watch, but Matthew Goode was a great eye candy.