I went to see Leap Year with my friend Leah this afternoon, and I absolutely loved it. It doesn't break any new ground as far as romantic comedies go, but sometimes you need a touch of the familiar, right? :)
I knew I had to see this movie when I saw the trailer and recognized Matthew Goode (isn't he ADORABLE?!). Goode doesn't have an incredibly long filmography (yet), but he's appeared in several noticable roles, including Chasing Liberty, Match Point, and Watchmen. However, since so much of my blogging focuses on British film, I've got to point out the more interesting credits (to me, anyway) - Marple: A Murder is Announced, My Family and Other Animals, and Brideshead Revisited, the latter of which is a pretty abysmal film, can't even recommend it unless you just want to listen to Matthew talk. :) Goode's portrayal of Declan in this movie leaves me determined to seek out my own handsome, surly, angst-ridden Irish pub owner. Seriously, how hard can that be? ;-)
As far as Amy Adams goes, this kind of role is tailor-made for her - a bit moreso than her turn in Julie & Julia IMO. She ended up getting on my ever-loving last nerve by the end of J&J, but here she's straight up completely believable and likable as Anna, the frazzled, desperate to be engaged apartment "stager." She's got the perfect life, the perfect boyfriend (Jeremy, played by Adam Scott), and you just know it's all going to fall apart because Jeremy has this freakishly perfect, Kennedy-esque hair, and mad dedication to his work that spells disaster in rom-com relationships. Since the next step in making the perfect life involves marriage, Anna decides to follow Jeremy to his cardiology convention in Dublin (how convenient & random) and propose on February 29th, since that's some sort of Irish leap year tradition. Of course her plane is diverted, and she happens to show up in Declan's pub, and since he has money trouble of course he's going to take the job of seeing Anna to Dublin.
Adams and Goode are so stinking cute together, and the scenery is gorgeous. I wanted to be in this movie in the worst way. The little road trip they take, complete with disaster after disaster, reminded me just a bit of the Clark Gable/Claudette Colbert classic, It Happened One Night. The whole pacing and tone of the movie does have a rather old-fashioned, throwback feel to it. It keeps a snappy pace, and does an excellent job showcasing the Irish scenery. Everything is so wonderfully green, and has such a fantastic, fairy-tale feel to it, I loved every second. Randy Edelman also did a nice job with the score by incorporating some great little Irish-flavored flourishes into the instrumental cues. All of the songs used in the movie are great as well - you can read the list here.
Leap Year is a really, really cute film. Loved Adams and Goode's on-screen chemistry, loved every second Goode was on-screen, loved the scenery and music, and LOVED the end of the movie. Such a great payoff!! :) It's a fun little movie, definitely worth checking out if your in the mood for some Irish-themed escapism.
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