>>REVIEW
TRUST THE MAN
STARRING Billy Crudup, David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Julianne Moore DIRECTED BY Bart Freundlich
Opens Friday, September 1
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Outstanding romantic comedies don’t hit theatres very often. That intoxicating combination of sexual tension, witty social commentary and a killer soundtrack is elusive and rare, but that doesn’t stop Hollywood from trying.
Trust the Man certainly has the right formula – ridiculously attractive actors, a hip exciting city (New York City), and snappy dialogue.
The film follows two couples in very different relationships spending far too much time gabbing about gender differences, getting pedicures and going out for dinner. Of the two couples, happily married David Duchovny and Julianne Moore, seem to have it all going on. She’s an accomplished actress, he’s a former advertising hotshot turned stay-at-home pop. They appear to have all the makings of an ideal relationship – kids, home, enough cash to reside in Manhattan. Predictably, sexual compulsions soon rear their ugly little heads and their perfect union begins to crumble.
The younger, unsettled couple (Maggie Gyllenhaal and Billy Crudup) is coping with problems of their own. She wants to get married and have kids and he’s terrified by the idea. At one point, her frustration manifests itself in a screamed plea for understanding on a bleak and windy street corner.
Moore comes off as shrewish and chilly and conveys all the carnal appetite of a wet noodle, even bartering sex for perceived good behaviour. The one saving grace is Gyllenhaal who manages to elicit some sympathy for her character, a talented young woman tired of being taken for granted. Her scene with a hyper-sexual Ellen Barkin is one of the high points of the film.
The male characters are predictably hapless and incapable of resisting the temptations of other women. This, of course, results in varying degrees of infidelity and sheepish shuffling around. By the time they both realize what world class jerks they are, drastic measures are required. Of course, like so many romantic comedies before it, the final moments are saved for public heartfelt apologies, which are met with exasperated acquiescence from the women.
It feels insincere and contrived and by the time we’re meant to be cheering, I found myself yawning and checking my watch.
With New York City as its setting, a cast of superb actors, and an original premise, Trust the Man should be a home run romantic comedy. Sadly, it never gets past first base. |
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