The Back-Up Plan, part 9 - SPOILERS

[darkstarrising]

Grrr. At the Movies started late and they didn't show the review of the Back Up Plan. They recapped at the end that Michael Philps said See It. Does anyone know when At The Movies reviews go on their site.

***steam coming out of fleur's ears***

Is this the same Michael Phillip's who gave BUP only 1 1/2 stars in this week's Tribune????? Now he says: See It??? WTF happened between Friday and today, did he friggin buy a clue or something? Nothing in his review suggested that anyone should See It. As I stated pages ago, it wasn't a horrible review, more a thesis on JLo and her career and acting choices. Oh, and he did say that the characters of Stan and Zoe were narcisstic divas. Yeah, that just screams See It to me.

Idiot.

And thank you baby Jesus in the manger (shout-out to PGal) for that second quote in red's post. FINALLY, someone with a clue. Let me guess, was it a woman who wrote that? Probably.

How many of us even entertained one smidgen of thought about this being a feminist piece?? That's what I thought. Zip. Zero. None.

I think these critics just like writing big fancy words, and trying to turn what they do into some sort of indecipherable art form that us mere humans don't understand. Just tell me if the blasted movie is any good or not, and give me concise reasons why it didn't work for you.

I need a drink.

Here you go, Fleur Breathe. Deeply. In. Out. In. Out.....there, doesn't that feel better?

What may have happened to change said idiot critic's mind is word of mouth reviews by the little people (us), who actually went to watch a rom-com and enjoy it. It's not a feminist platform. It's a feel good chick flick movie.

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

I scanned my failing memory and to the best of my recollection the only profanity I could come up with was the word 'shit'. I explained to my sister that indeed, the movie was not laced with vulgarities and profanities and that the word shit was used in its literal meaning primarily in the playground scene when the father asks his son just who's shit he's holding.

Yet for this one reviewer, the use of that word was bothersome.....go figure

[Fleur de Lisa]

Grrr. At the Movies started late and they didn't show the review of the Back Up Plan. They recapped at the end that Michael Philps said See It. Does anyone know when At The Movies reviews go on their site.

***steam coming out of fleur's ears***

Is this the same Michael Phillip's who gave BUP only 1 1/2 stars in this week's Tribune????? Now he says: See It??? WTF happened between Friday and today, did he friggin buy a clue or something? Nothing in his review suggested that anyone should See It. As I stated pages ago, it wasn't a horrible review, more a thesis on JLo and her career and acting choices. Oh, and he did say that the characters of Stan and Zoe were narcisstic divas. Yeah, that just screams See It to me.

Idiot.

And thank you baby Jesus in the manger (shout-out to PGal) for that second quote in red's post. FINALLY, someone with a clue. Let me guess, was it a woman who wrote that? Probably.

How many of us even entertained one smidgen of thought about this being a feminist piece?? That's what I thought. Zip. Zero. None.

I think these critics just like writing big fancy words, and trying to turn what they do into some sort of indecipherable art form that us mere humans don't understand. Just tell me if the blasted movie is any good or not, and give me concise reasons why it didn't work for you.

I need a drink.

Here you go, Fleur Breathe. Deeply. In. Out. In. Out.....there, doesn't that feel better?

What may have happened to change said idiot critic's mind is word of mouth reviews by the little people (us), who actually went to watch a rom-com and enjoy it. It's not a feminist platform. It's a feel good chick flick movie.

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

I scanned my failing memory and to the best of my recollection the only profanity I could come up with was the word 'shit'. I explained to my sister that indeed, the movie was not laced with vulgarities and profanities and that the word shit was used in its literal meaning primarily in the playground scene when the father asks his son just who's shit he's holding.

Yet for this one reviewer, the use of that word was bothersome.....go figure

I felt better reading the beginning of your post (thanks for the drink and breathing exercises!), then got pissed off again about the reviewer who was bothered by the profanity?? WTF are these people watching?? Was he a member of the Highlights magazine staff? I can give him some profanities, if he wants to hear some real ones.

It just killed me to think that critics are actually going on about feminism,etc. I would be as upset at the ridiculousness of that whether or not it was an Alex movie. I mean, c'mon, it's a PG13 rom com for Chrissakes! Does everything have to carry a message, change the world, be a topic for intense discussion? Are critics upset about Date Night? 2 parents obviously so self-centered that they leave their poor, neglected children home to go out to eat. Oceans? The G rated film that is landist---b/c they only focus on the creatures that live in the water?
Or the Bounty Hunter? Of which I know absolutely nothing about, therefore I am unable to continue my steady stream of snark and sarcasm. But I believe I've made my point.

Sometimes we just want to look at a beautiful, talented, dewy chested man on the screen for an hour and a half.....wait, was I angry about something? Because now I am feeling an entirely different emotion.

[nutmegger911]

Thanks for that, Red. It is good to know there are critics out there who have good things to say about the movie. Also nice to see that she focuses on the elements that matter in a rom com.

Rom com is a formulaic genre. You go because that is what you want to see. It is beyond me why so many critics were complaining that it followed the rom com formula.

ETA: Fleur ITA, and I've seen that happen before when the critic does an about face. Look folks; like it, love it, hate it, whatever. Just have the b@lls to voice your opinion honestly and stick with it regardless of the buzz.

[darkstarrising]

ETA: Fleur ITA, and I've seen that happen before when the critic does an about face. Look folks; like it, love it, hate it, whatever. Just have the b@lls to voice your opinion honestly and stick with it regardless of the buzz.

Amen. Couldn't have said it better.

Sometimes we just want to look at a beautiful, talented, dewy chested man on the screen for an hour and a half.....wait, was I angry about something? Because now I am feeling an entirely different emotion.

That we do, and if there's an entertaining story around said man, all the better.

[clair]

Ok, so I finally got all my stuff done, well for the most part so I can leave town tomorrow. I keep having flashbacks of Alex with no shirt on. I decide to go to Amazon to see if I can pre-order the movie. I really want to see it again. I get over there and there are four reviews already. Three of them are 5 star and one is 2. Of course the 2 star is the one that goes on and on about how bad the movie is.

I never write reviews. For one thing I'm lousy at actually saying anything but Oh, I loved this. But I bit the bullet and added my two cents so I could give it another 5 star review.

[PNWgal]

I pretty much go on the premise that if the critics hate something, it's pretty much a guarantee that a) I will go see it and b) I probably will love it.

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

This made me laugh out loud. I wonder if the word that got to this particular critic was "vagina" - guys seem to freak out a bit when they hear it too often.

On a side note...imagine my complete and utter delight to go to Yahoo! this morning to check my email and see that the #1 in the "Trending Now" list is...Alex O'Loughlin.

[darkstarrising]

I pretty much go on the premise that if the critics hate something, it's pretty much a guarantee that a) I will go see it and b) I probably will love it.

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

This made me laugh out loud. I wonder if the word that got to this particular critic was "vagina" - guys seem to freak out a bit when they hear it too often.

On a side note...imagine my complete and utter delight to go to Yahoo! this morning to check my email and see that the #1 in the "Trending Now" list is...Alex O'Loughlin.

ITA about the critical reviews...our recently departed local critic was my bellweather for choosing to see a movie or not. Whatever that poor man hated, I loved and vice versa.

As for the trending, good for Alex!!

I had forgotten about the vagina segment, and yes, using that word could be considered by some to be profane. Me, I laughed myself silly as the OB/GYN is trying to get Stan to relax. "It's not helping" delivered as only a terrified male in an OB/GYN's office can deliver.

[Fleur de Lisa]

I pretty much go on the premise that if the critics hate something, it's pretty much a guarantee that a) I will go see it and b) I probably will love it.

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

Just to show how perceptions vary from one critic to another, my sister in central Virginia read me a bit from the local critic, who gave the movie 2 stars out of 4. He highlighted the hilarious scenes, but was a bit put off by the profanity.

Profanity? What profanity?

This made me laugh out loud. I wonder if the word that got to this particular critic was "vagina" - guys seem to freak out a bit when they hear it too often.

On a side note...imagine my complete and utter delight to go to Yahoo! this morning to check my email and see that the #1 in the "Trending Now" list is...Alex O'Loughlin.

vaginavaginavaginavaginavaginavagina
Can honestly say that I have never typed that word, until now.

Oh! I am giddy as a little school girl with that Trending Now news! I bet we will start seeing pix and interviews with him in USWeekly and People magazines, they will probably preface their articles with "Where did this guy come from?" and we will proudly raise our hands and say, sit back, we'll tell you alllllllll about him!

As to the reviews, as noted earlier, I am very picky about movies. I won't go to just anything (Twilight saga excluded--b/c everyone has their own guilty pleasure) and I do rely on what the critics say---as long as they are in agreement with one another--I find that critical reviews are much more helpful when it comes to smaller, indie-type films.

The star system certainly does affect whether people will go and see a particular film---which ticked me off when Michael Phillips gave BUP 1 1/2 stars and I heard a table of 5 women near me at lunch debate what movie they were going to see, and that they didn't want to waste their time and money on a movie with only one star. Then the same guy says: SEE IT!! If he had said SEE IT in his initial review, those 5 women would have gone to see BUP. It's seems like such a simple system, but these people have to make it so difficult, I guess to their credit, they have to compete with each other, so they try maybe too hard to stand apart.

[allegrita]

You're being too nice, Fleur. He's an idiot.

I've been thinking about the spate of early poor reviews. It seems to me that waaaaay too many people had knee-jerk reactions to the fact that this was a woman-oriented film that started out with the concept that a woman was capable of having a baby on her own... and then immediately switched to a "relationship" movie. I absolutely concur with the Huffington Post review. It's a rom-com. It's gonna abide by a formula, and the formula is based on the "Rom" part. Helloooo... the lady meets a guy, hilarity ensues, and they end up together forever. That's how they work.

One thing that I believe does a disservice to the movie is the whole "single mothers and proud" support group subplot. Those characters, hilarious as they are, poke fun at the concept that a single woman can make a reasoned decision to raise a child on her own, without being a lunatic. If (and I'm emphasizing the word if here) you're oversensitive to criticism of women's issues, there's a lot to dislike here: the woman who breastfeeds her daughter long past the age where she can form complex sentences, the weirdo group leader, and the other stereotypes in that group... need I go on? Those characters make it seem that the movie's making fun of the concept. Now, mind you, I don't think they are. I think they are using those characters as purely comic fodder, without making judgments as to whether those particular people would be good parents. Because, let's face it--this isn't a movie about whether ANYBODY is gonna be a good parent. This is a movie about whether the leads will find true love.

Now I'm gonna go back and get all smooshy, remembering the scene where Stan was and reading to the babies from Cesar's book... I looooooove Stan...

[clair]

What I didn't realize is what a lighting rod JLo is. I don't really have an opinion of her one way or the other I guess because she's not usually in the movies I watch. It seems to me a lot of what I've read about the movie is about how she's so awful, but some of it seems almost personal in the attacks. In a lot of cases, not all, it seems that it's all about tearing her down. Does she always provoke this kind of reaction?

[nutmegger911]

There were several comments by folks who had seen advance clips that indicated possibly a level of disappointment on some level.

Question for those who were in on the advance discussion: What role, if any, do you think keeping up on all pre release discussion (and advance clips) had in that?

Another question (survey): If you participated in the advance discussion threads what was your reaction to the movie?

[Fleur de Lisa]

alle--You are right about the single mother support group stuff--as funny as the birthing scene was, I failed to see how the rest of it was integral to the movie. I get that it was supposed to add more comedic moments, but I wish they could have used Melissa McCarthy better---I LOVED her as Sookie (SP?) on Gilmore Girls. Trust me, that woman has great comedic skills. And I would have loved to had more Linda Lavin nana moments vs. the support group stuff. Just realized: Nana did say the F-word. So, maybe that is what burned that one reviewer's ears!

As much as I can find the humor in almost anything--especially things that may make lesser women cringe-- that 3 yr old breast feeding was icky. Not funny, just gross. And I breast fed, so that shouldn't squick me out, but that kid looked old enough to be able to make her own lunch. I get that sometimes jokes within a movie may fall short, and to me, that one fell waaaaay short.

But, still loved Alex. I know I should reference him as his character's name, but to me, that character is closer to the real Alex than any other he played. In my mind, he is just as charming and sweet and romantic.
Love him. As I've said before, we picked well when we decided to be his fangirls.

[cassysj]

You're being too nice, Fleur. He's an idiot.



One thing that I believe does a disservice to the movie is the whole "single mothers and proud" support group subplot. Those characters, hilarious as they are, poke fun at the concept that a single woman can make a reasoned decision to raise a child on her own, without being a lunatic. If (and I'm emphasizing the word if here) you're oversensitive to criticism of women's issues, there's a lot to dislike here: the woman who breastfeeds her daughter long past the age where she can form complex sentences, the weirdo group leader, and the other stereotypes in that group... need I go on? Those characters make it seem that the movie's making fun of the concept. Now, mind you, I don't think they are. I think they are using those characters as purely comic fodder, without making judgments as to whether those particular people would be good parents. Because, let's face it--this isn't a movie about whether ANYBODY is gonna be a good parent. This is a movie about whether the leads will find true love.

Edited to add Fleur beat me to the Gilmore Girls reference
That's true and you know I don't think I've seen a review where the critic mentions the single mother and proud part of it. I was raised completely by a single mother and I just took that as movie comic fodder as you said. I did enjoy the group leader played by Melissa McCarthy I hadn't seen her anywhere since Gilmore Girls. At the end of a Romantic Comedy you want to see the couple to together and that's the most important thing in the movie.

If I recall a few years ago there was a Jennifer Anniston movie The Break Up that I hated because it did not have a "happy" ending. It's been a while since I've seen it so I don't remember exactly but I remember being disappointed.

Rom-coms are suppose to leave you with the warm fuzzies afterwards.

[MoonMad]

Actually, I really liked The Break Up because it didn't have that supposed happy ending. But then again, it wasn't a romcom. They fell in love quickly at the start of the film, and then suddenly it was years later and the focus of the film was about breaking up. It was actually an anti-rom com if you think about it.

I love rom coms and I know I'll enjoy TBUP when I finally get to see it (next Wednesday night for me). It's just the degree of how well I'll love it that's a mystery at this stage. My guess is I'll love it a lot, because I love rom coms with heart, and this sounds like these are characters you care about.

Thanks for all the reviews ladies. You all aren't so over-the top that I'll be expecting The Best Movie Evah! But I also know it won't be a huge disappointment to me either. So thanks for that.

[darkstarrising]

There were several comments by folks who had seen advance clips that indicated possibly a level of disappointment on some level.

Question for those who were in on the advance discussion: What role, if any, do you think keeping up on all pre release discussion (and advance clips) had in that?

Another question (survey): If you participated in the advance discussion threads what was your reaction to the movie?

Early on, I gratefully viewed any video clip and interview that came my way, eager to see how the movie was shaping up. As the movie got nearer to opening, I stopped viewing the clips and interviews as I was worried I had already seen the best parts of the film. After a while, the interviews became somewhat repetitious, same questions, different interviewer.

I also actively participated in discussions of said clips and interviews and enjoyed every minute of it.

Did any of that have an adverse impact on my reaction to the movie? Not at all. Some of the clips we saw were redone for the final cut of the movie, so it was interesting to me to ponder why one version was chosen over another. Yet nothing prepared me for the 'Awwww moment' near the end of the flick, where Stan is reading to his daughters. I would love to see the outtakes on that or even the setup for that scene.

Seeing the clips out of context, or isolated from the rest of the movie made me appreciate the editing that goes on. For instance, after the birthing scene, we've all seen Stan and Zoe walking away, dazed and glazed, with Stan going 'I shouldn't have seen that!' What I was expecting afterward was nothing like what happened. Both characters were frightened by what they saw and that fear was a catalyst for the ensuing argument that led to Zoe pushing Stan away....didn't see that coming.

Was I disappointed in the movie? Again, no, because I knew what I was getting into - a romcom. Having seen it now, what I would say is that I would have played the single mothers stuff a little differently as alle, cassey and fleur have indicated. They all came off as a bit wacko. I, too, would have liked to see Nana have a bit more screen time.