Review of Leap Year (2010) by Robyn H — 26 Aug 2015

"Leap Year" not only fails to avoid all of the chick flick stereotypes, but it embraces them. The entire film is a long string of clichés, complete with two opposite personalities forced together by circumstance, a roll down a muddy hill, missing a train by a minute, and the two opposites being forced to pretend that they are married.

Oh yeah, and then they're pressured into kissing in front of a group of people. I wonder if the screenwriters ever saw "The Proposal"? They even included the potential-romantic-moment-interrupted-by-a-slightly-intoxicated-vomit.

How about tossing in a she-left-before-he-got-to-tell-her-he-loved-her-but-then-the-audience-realizes-that-she-didn't-leave-on-the-bus-and-is-walking-out-of-the-store-behind-him moment? The one stereotype that this film did get right was the iconic romantic speech that perfectly encapsulates their journey together.

I'll admit that I cried and that they managed to create a truly magical moment. The final 4 minutes almost made it worth watching the whole thing, but the film was way too much of a cookie cutter.

I was surprised to see that Amy Adams signed on for this script after breaking away from her "Enchanted" persona with amazing performances in "Julie & Julia" and "Doubt." I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and the inclusion of cultural songs like "Irish Rover" and "Tell My Ma," but they still managed to stereotype the Irish as jolly, quirky folk with a strong affinity for alcohol.

The final four minutes of "Leap Year" are fantastic, but I can't recommend sitting through 90 minutes of fluff to get there.