Down with Love (2003)

Down with Love
This movie is so much fun! It reminds me of one of my favorite Doris Day and Rock Hudson movie! It is a corny movie that you have to view with a sense of humor!

Ewan and Renee were a great match for this movie. Ewan has such a strong voice which he also show in Moulon Rouge

I'm so down with this movie...
I don't know if it's the cocktails that preceded or the `cocktail' that followed but watching `Down with Love' for the first time last night was such a treat. I'm a fan of Ewan McGregor through and through and was at one time fascinated with the phenomenon that was Renee Zellweger and so it's a shame that it has taken me so long to finally see this film. From McGregor's and Zellweger's stylized performances to the equally stylized set pieces and costumes `Down with Love' is a feast for the eyes and ears. It's also quite the enjoyable ride.

The film takes place in 1962 and centers around a young up and coming author named Barbara Novak who has written her debut novel entitled `Down with Love', a how to guide for women wanting to make their way to the top of the predominantly male business world. Novak moves to New York to promote her book and finds herself tangled in a web of lies and deceit with playboy Catcher Block. You see Novak's book instructs women to cut off all ties with the fascination of `love' in order to focus completely on their advancement in the work field. Determined to prove her a liar Catcher goes undercover as an astronaut named Zip in an effort to make Novak fall in love with him and thus prove her theory wrong.

This somewhat odd plotline would have never survived had it not been for the extremely entertaining performances by the entire cast and the delightful way the film is constructed. The bright pinks, yellows and blues used throughout the film add so much to the intoxicating nature of the film, drawing the audience in with every entertaining frame. Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger work off one another brilliantly. In fact I think Zellweger's performance may be one of her zany finest next to her masterful Bridget Jones portrayal. David Hyde Pierce and Sarah Paulson deliver superb supporting performances, all four of the actors truly understanding the idea behind the film not just in subject but in delivery as well and so they all contribute to the feel of creative feel of the film. Rachel Dratch is hilarious here, but I only wish she had more to do.

`Down with Love' is some of the most fun I've had sitting in front of the television set. It's one long running innuendo (thus my opening sentence) in the vein of maybe `Austin Powers' but it's smarter than the `Powers' films for it has more than just funny going for it, it has style.

Are you down with love?
Down with Love starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor is a sexy, classy, and fun romp of a film. The inspiration for this film are those classic Doris Day and Rock Hudson films of the 1960's. Some of the dialogue is a bit long-winded but I thought this film was enjoyable from start to finish. I am a big Zellweger fan and of course she delivers another strong and engeretic performance. Oh my goodness, the wardrobe and set design is absolutely incredible, you'll love it. Give this film a chance, good luck!