Movie Review: Leap Year (2010)
An absolute travesty that must be avoided at all costs
Photo: Universal Pictures
I should have known better, but the fact I do my best to avoid trailers meant I had no idea what I was in for with the god-awful travesty that is Leap Year. All I knew going in was it starred Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, two actors I like and would expect to choose good projects. Or at least decent projects. No such luck.
Adams, in my opinion, was a misfire in Julie and Julia earlier this year, but she was great in Sunshine Cleaning and has knocked it out of the park several times prior. Goode was worthless in 2009's Watchmen, but was highly impressive in the late season Oscar entry A Single Man. As for director Anand Tucker, I missed And When Did You Last See Your Father? two years ago, but I was able to at least respect his 2005 effort Shopgirl. So what went wrong? How did this trio go from making quality cinema to Adams stepping in cow manure on an Irish country road all while playing one of the most unlikable and asinine lead characters I can remember in romantic-comedy history?
The cast includes Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott and John Lithgow. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"Leap Year" is a Universal Pictures release, directed by Anand Tucker and is rated PG for sensuality and language. The running time is 1 hour 37 minutes.
Praying for her current boyfriend of four years (an equally abominable character played by Adam Scott) to ask her to marry him, Anna (Adams) is miffed when his most recent gift only ends up being several thousand dollars worth of diamond earrings. So, when he heads off to Dublin on a business trip that just so happens to coincide with Leap Day, Adams decides to take action.
Apparently there is an Irish tradition that says on February 29 a woman can ask her man to marry her rather than waiting for her boyfriend to do it when he's ready. So Anna heads over to Ireland to propose to her man. Unfortunately her plane is diverted to the wrong side of the island where she enlists the down-on-his-luck (aren't they always?) pub owner Declan (Matthew Goode) to taxi her to Dublin and on the way insults him as many ways as she can possibly come up with.
Strangely enough he falls in love with her, but I have to assume that's only because Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont wrote it in their awful script. My guess would be any self-respecting human being on this planet would have left Anna sitting in that pile of cow dung she stepped in before ever going another mile at her side.
To say I disliked this movie would be an understatement and to say the first weekend of 2010 has delivered a contender for the worst movie of the year would be dead on. Romantic comedies have gotten progressively worse recently, but this one takes it to new heights. Screenwriters are now trying to convince audiences to cheer for the armpit of society as they disparage others on their way to personal happiness. What fun!
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That Leap Year tradition is true. That's all the film really did right by the sounds of things.
I, personally, thought the movie was cute and a decent love story with absoulutely beautiful landscape. It was a bit of a 'chick flick' but hey I'm a woman so what do you expect?
I liked it although the story line was a bit far fetched!
Wow, it's a shame that you found it so awful. I think "Shopgirl" is brilliant, and Amy Adams of course is great. I always get tense when actresses I like and respect choose to work in a romantic comedy… Even Kate Winslet couldn't save the quite ordinary "The Holiday".
…but it's Amy Adams!
I totally see your point Brad, and I actually detest half-assed, rip-offs of rip-off type movies, but I really, really like Amy Adams. I'll at least give this one a rent, more likely a viewing at the local discount theater come a few months from now.
Why doesn't Adams just propose to her boyfriend when he gets back home? Does she really need to take advantage of some old Irish tradition?
i agree to disagree brad, this movie is not to be avoided at any cost, that fact it stars Amy Adams is enough for me, i really dont care how bad the movie is, we cant all be watching masterpeices like The Prophet allll the times.
Wow Brad, I haven't seen you this worked up for a movie in a long time hahahahaha
I could feel your hatred and at the end of this article, I was almost getting upset at it as if I just watched it too lol
But let's be honest, this movie is geared towards girls and young women who want to see a rom-com, and the majority will end up renting it on one rainy night for a few bucks and get a few laughs from it.
Let's not get all "Gigli" on this one, I'm positive it's not one of the best rom-coms out there but I don't think it can be THAT bad lol