Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Delayed Reaction: Mr. Right

The Pitch: But, has Anna Kendrick ever been a sociopath?

This movie is Knight & Day by way of God Bless America. The latter movie I adore despite all its rough edges. The former is a movie that's better in concept than execution, which is probably why its been done so many times (also see Killers or Mr. & Mrs. Smith for other variations).

I enjoyed this stupid little movie. I don't buy Anna Kendrick and Sam Rockwell as a couple, but I love them as a duo. Their energies match. They have a student/teacher dynamic. She has great enthusiasm and he plays the "old pro" well. They should work together again. The RZA is pretty wonderful as well. It's a fun throwaway part that keeps finding ways to show up throughout the movie.

The direction is entirely invasive. Some of that is by design. This is an over the top movie. Rockwell regularly dodges bullets as parts of dance routines. There's no way to play that straight. The stunt work is distractingly unconvincing. And what was that knife throwing scene about? The movie is clearly choppy for comedic effect, and that will only bother you if you aren't otherwise liking the movie. I would've watched 90 minutes of Anna Kendrick getting drunk in her closet or having repeated meet-cutes with Rockwell, so it didn't matter if nothing else in the story was plausible.

Anna Kendrick goes from appalled by what Rockwell does to being completely fine with it far too quickly. So quickly that even Rockwell can't believe it. Similar to the protagonists in God Bless America, it's better the less I think about the morality of it. This isn't a movie that I would put at the top of any list. It's a dumb, good movie with two leads who are always good.

Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend

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