A Good Year

We were going to watch Happy Feet with the tickets J gave us -- according to Gwynne, Happy Feet got rated "PG" in the US for "mild peril", haha! -- but the folks at the cinema said that we couldn't watch Happy Feet with free tickets.

So we watched A Good Year instead, starring Russell Crowe as Max Skinner. You know, despite the bad reviews, we actually really liked it. I tend to end up liking the movies that I know nothing about going in. I think the lack of expectations really helps. It works like this: if you don't know it is supposed to be a romantic comedy, the humour takes you by surprise. If you know that you are going to watch a romantic comedy, then you expect it to make you laugh, and if you're particularly demanding, you'll even expect it to expand the boundaries of its genre.

So on hindsight, knowing that it is supposed to be a romantic comedy, it isn't fantastic 'cos it doesn't make a person root for the couple the way the best romantic comedies do. The falling-in-love-couple-thing is a side plot in my opinion. But taken on its own, labels aside, A Good Year is actually quite funny in a slapstick kinda way. The vineyard it is set in is also gorgeous; dappling sunlight through leaves... you can practically smell the wine from your seat.


One of our favourite scenes from the movie.

This movie has a preponderance of female flesh for some reason. No nudity or obscenity or anything (not that I can remember anyway). Just that the camera pans and lingers, for absolutely no reason at all. I suppose that for some folks, that is reason enough to go watch it. But if you do, don't expect too much. Set out to have a good time, and you'll probably will. :)