Movie Review | Alex And Emma
Reviewed by: Brian Orndorf

Alex (Luke Wilson) is a struggling author up to his eyeballs in gambling debts. Given a timetable of 30 days in which to finish his new book, or death will greet his 31st morning, Alex hires court stenographer, Emma (Kate Hudson), to help him break out of his writing block and complete the book on time. As the two try to form a novel out of Alex’s drifting narrative thoughts (also seen in the film, featuring actors Sophie Marceau and David Paymer), they begin to reveal feelings for each other as the characters in Alex’s book begin to take shape, sometimes in the form of Emma.

Poor Rob Reiner. After giving the world such gems as “Misery,” fairy tales like “Princess Bride,” and an incontestable classic in “This Is Spinal Tap,” his creative current has been plugged up in recent times, with the career-stopping “North,” the misguided “Story Of Us,” and the brazenly self-indulgent “Ghosts Of Mississippi.” Reiner, sensing career foreclosure, has returned to the romantic comedy, a genre that yielded his best efforts. “When Harry Met Sally” was Reiner’s creative summit back in 1989, and his new directorial effort, “Alex and Emma,” aches to recapture that audience fancy for all things romantic. “Alex” doesn’t have much in common with “Harry” in terms of story, but the sensation of creative bankruptcy permeates the film in a way that can only be summoned by a director in the profession quandary that Reiner finds himself currently in.

“Alex and Emma” isn’t an especially persuasive work. Reiner and his screenwriter Jeremy Leven (“Don Juan DeMarco”) are simply lobbing romantic comedy softballs to audiences which I hope have better standards for their own love affairs. It’s often horribly written, taking the characters down such hideously familiar genre roads that the picture ends up lapping itself. Reiner and Leven leave no cliché unturned, as if drunk with the notion that their film will work just fine if they give their creation every little nuance that has worked for other films cut from the same cloth (like the 360 degree kiss, the third act complication and breakup, and the frothy romantic patter). I wish this was the case. I’m the first sucker for goo-goo eyes and adorable actors, but “Alex” is belabored by Reiner to such an extent that nothing could bring it back to life. “Alex” is a film that tries to lull audiences in with new, sleepy Norah Jones tunes, hip young talent, and syrupy romantic fluff. However, it’s also a picture that features zero romantic heat, a confetti-less Rip Taylor in a straight role, and jokes that actually feature the punch line, “hot wet balls.” Yep, that’s the “comedy” side of the film, folks. Whatever mojo Reiner last had cooking nearly a decade ago has all but permanently flatlined with this new film.

As the two leads character, Kate Hudson and Luke Wilson don’t appear to be all that interested in creating the sparks that should be there between them. Their chemistry knob is turned way down, either by Reiner or the actors’ own acting misalignment, but something is off about this couple. Wilson, after taking on his most archetypal “nice guy” role in last winter’s “Old School,” comes to “Alex” with pretty much the same tricks of laconic eye-raising and carefully modulated pronunciation, making him look and sound at times like a young Jack Nicholson. Though Wilson is capable of many things, playing a sophisticated author isn’t one of them. Leven’s wordy dialog often falls from Wilson’s tongue like anvils. Also missing from Wilson’s performance is any discussion of his character’s rather blatant gambling addiction!

Kate Hudson is more suited for this breezy type of romantic comedy role, as she just gave the same performance in “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” five months ago. Because Hudson is skilled with this material, and willing to step outside the tight comedy fence Reiner has erected, she can skate by with a little less scrutiny. Having to play multiple roles in the film as Alex‘s objects of desire, both literary and real, Hudson doesn’t whoop it up like she’s designed to do. It’s a dreary performance that plays well below Hudson’s gifts for comedy.

“Alex and Emma” is safe and won’t surprise anyone, and that’s the whole problem. Even for those gagging for formulaic romantic comedies in any shape or form might be surprised to see just how wheezy and unimaginative this picture is.

Grade: 2/10