After the somewhat underwhelming reaction to VANILLA SKY, Cameron Crowe seems resigned to pumping out sunny, comfortable romantic dramedies in the same vein as his biggest hit to date, JERRY MAGUIRE. And this one looks no different.
Sure, it’s got a bevy of talent onboard, from leads Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone to the supporting cast that includes Bill Murray and Danny McBride, but this trailer isn’t doing much to win me over. The military plot seems like background noise, and the tone is decidedly mired in cheese. There’s nothing here to suggest the energy and charm that distinguished Crowe’s early work (including SAY ANYTHING, SINGLES, and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, which he wrote), and the “sparks” that are inevitably going to fly between Cooper and Stone’s characters seem fairly arbitrary and forced. I know that’s what people go to these movies for, and I’m sure Crowe will give them something more than their usual star-studded rom-com delivers. I just hope there’s more to this than meets the eye. I’d hate to think of Crowe & co. wasting their talents on some pap just to get nice tans in Hawaii.
What do you guys think? ALMOST FAMOUS or ELIZABETHTOWN?
Does anyone else remember when McBride (as Kenny Powers) screamed “I’m in a goddamn Cameron Crowe movie!!” at the end of Season 3 of EASTBOUND AND DOWN? Some Lynch-level foresight there, wouldn’t you say?
ALOHA says “hello” and “goodbye” on May 29th.
