Search - Down With Love on DVD

Doris and Rock--with a Twist!

W. Carol | 11/10/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Down with Love" is a little gem of a movie that pays homage to the vintage 60s Doris Day-Rock Hudson films that were considered so witty in their day.Although director Peyton Reed explains in his excellent commentary (more about that later) that the film was based on a montage of many of the 60s movies, the plot most resembles "Pillow Talk"--and Renee and Ewan are absolutely perfect.From the clothes to the sets to the photography to the color to the split-screen "talking on the phone" scenes (much more suggestive than the originals!), this perfectly choreographed, beautifully written romp is just a blast, as we would have said back then. There is just enough of a "wink-wink" to let you know that the actors know that YOU know that it's all tongue in cheek"--but even though the satire is broad, it never spoils the fun.David Hyde-Pierce is superb as the neurotic friend of Ewan (the old Tony Randall role), and Tony Randall himself makes a cameo appearance that is simply the icing on the cake. The acting is a work of art, just right, making everything seem effortless. But when one watches the director's commentary, one realizes just how tightly each scene was choreographed to achieve that "effortless" look--unlike most DVDs, I found the director's comments actually added to my enjoyment of the movie, and I watched it again after finishing his explanation of how things were done.All in all, I recommend this movie highly. I truly hope they are successful enough to parody ALL the Doris-Rock movies. I'll be there to watch them if they do!"

Dunno what everyone else is smoking...

torrence | Somewhere | 07/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I saw the theatric release of Down With Love, and I thought it was not only a very good romantic comedy, it was THE romantic comedy. Far too many movies of this genre are bland, w/ terrible acting, and all too familiar of plot lines. So this movie dug back into the beginning of romantic comedies, when the movies hadn't been all warped into a bunch of mindless junk and i think it revived the whole genre. I was very shocked to see the loads of lukewarm and down reviews for this movie, because I greatly enjoyed it.As you prolly have already heard, this movie pays homage to the Doris Day/Rock Hudson sex comedies of the 60s. It's not a spoof in any way or a remake; it is simply using the components of movies of that time and reviving it. With stars such as Ewan McGregor and David Hyde Pierce this movie is propelled, and without there performances i think this movie wouldn't have been the same. The plot line is that Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) is the ladies man, man's man, man about town type of guy, and Renee Zelweger plays Barbara Novak, the feminist author who thinks women should be "Down With Love", not sex, just as men are to get themselves further in the working industry. The book she writes, Down With Love, becomes an international sensation and quickly deteriorates the lives of men, and especially one's like Catcher Block. Block then decides to go under cover and act as the perfect husband material to Novak and prove that all women want love and marriage. With a plot such as this, a lovely furbished 60's set (practically a flashback, feast for the eyes), and the sexual comic humor (which in my opinion is strangely a more innocent type of comedy) I had a laughing good time.As I said before the acting was also another vital thing in this movie, and I thought some of the performances were magnificent. Take Ewan McGregor's for example, without his style of portraying that type of egotistical male, even the work of just his facial expressions, the movie would've been a loss. Also David Hyde Pierce's role as a worry-worted boss who's ridiculously failing to be as suave as Block was wonderfully acted. I found almost all the performances absolutely wonderful (i disagree with the comment about "shallow acting") and the only thing I thought could've been better was Zelwiger. In the film she seemed to over-emphasize the comedy, yet her look was ideal for this film. Yet, that is still nothing that hardly tainted this production.Furthermore this is a must-see film, and it saddens me that so many well respected reviewers gave such poor ratings. The shame of it all is that Fox released it at the worst time possible, on the weekend following the opening of The Matrix. Its initial opening date, April 11th, was for some reason pushed back, and I think if it had been released earlier, it wouldn't have failed at the box office. All I can tell you is that the movie's failure there had nothing to do with the movie itself, but the careless scheduling and promoting of the people at Fox. I thought it was a very entertaining movie, maybe not Oscar material of course, but if you want to see an enjoyable movie at the theaters, then go and get "Down With Love"."

A Splendid Send-Off of the Sixties

torrence | 05/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"How could you go wrong with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor? From the opening credits to the last song and dance over the closing credits (DON'T leave before that!) this film is a delight. The writing is refreshing and clever, the costumes are hysterically gorgeous and the four main principals carry the film seemingly effortlessly. Her monolgue explaining the "plot" is priceless. How did she remember all that, it is a single take. I can't wait to see it again.If you are familiar with the romantic comedies of the 50's and 60's you will enjoy this, but even if you are not into that genre there is a lot to love in this film. Very refreshing and courageous."

A romantic comedy of the 60s-at its best!

Carrie Parker | DOBSON, NC USA | 05/27/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a die-hard Ewan McGregor and Renèe Zellweger fan and was overjoyed when I heard about six months ago that Down With Love was coming out with my favorites as the main attractions! So, I marked Down with Love as a favorite and six months later searched for the showtimes, only to find that my theater wasn't going to show it on opening day. Miffed, but not worried because of the popular Matrix sequel sharing the opening day, I bought the Down With Love book and looked for the movie the next week, only to find that Down With Love wasn't on the bill. My theater is filled with incompetant people- they only showed 13 time Oscar Nominee Chicago for a week, so I went to the neighboring large city. By now, I had heard the mediocre reviews the critics were giving the movie-"Too Cute", "Utterly cheesy, why bring back Rock and Doris now?", and the insulting, "Tries to be funny, but inexpilicably fails". I was amazed at how much I loved the movie though. Set to a twisting plot, Renèe Zellweger stars as Barbara Novak, the new writer for Banner House. Ewan stars as Catcher Block, Laidies Man, Man around town, Man's Man, a charmer to all who meet this heartbreaker. When their worlds collide, it creates an instant comedy that never quits! You see, Catcher Block is out of luck-and love with the Down With Love girls and every man hates Renèe, so Catch invents a Texan Persona to prove Ms. Novak wrong. The soundtrack is great, and the book matches well. Do yourself a favor- Go see Down With Love!"