Working with a theme that has been a major factor for women to see a movie, Stuck in Love turns up the romance heat. The complex dramedy about relationships turns one man’s world upside down providing messages to be examined and situations that are humorous enough to lighten the passionate drama. In the movie we find that love has special powers that can make one think differently about their present and future.
Bill Borgens (Greg Kinnear), a famous book writer, has been divorced for a year and still hasn’t accepted that his wife Erica (Jennifer Connelly) would choose someone else. The movie opens with Bill’s daughter Samantha (Lilly Collins) returning home from college for Thanksgiving with news that her first novel has been published, but not the one on which Bill had mentored. His son Rusty (Nat Wolff) has been keeping a journal most of his life and now in High School he’s looking for someone with whom he can fill many pages.
The three have writing in common, but their lives are about to change drastically. While Bill has been accepting friends with benefits from his married next door neighbor Tricia (Kristen Bell) he still hasn’t broken away from sneaking over to his ex-wife’s house and watch her through a window to sooth his broken heart. He’s also trying to control his daughter’s love life and patch up the relationship between her and his ex-wife that seems to be getting out of hand. When his underage son brings his girlfriend Kate (Liana Liberato) to stay the night, it adds more drama to Bill’s life.
The story may be similar to many romance films, but in this one there are a few twists that make it fresh. Writer Josh Boone does a good job of directing his first feature keeping his actors on target making their characters realistic and enjoyable to watch. The sincerity factor reaches good levels keeping the film from becoming melodramatic. I especially liked the way he handles Rusty’s first romance, but better still how he deals with Samantha’s building dilemma that has been keeping Bill from accepting his own romantic fate. The film does get a little sappy and predictable however, but it’s enjoyable just the same.
Performances by Greg Kennear and Jennifer Connelly are up to par with past roles in which they established love relationships, so don’t expect anything different with Stuck in Love. The two still command the screen no matter how banal the scene or dialogue they have to spout. They’re in the film as the catalyst for the other players who give very good performances with characters that are likeable and interesting. Kudos to Liana Liberato as the out of control teen that has lost her way as she wins here with a believable performance. You may say she even saves the film from becoming ultra romantic and overly sentimental by providing a peephole to the effects of teen drug use and peer pressure.
The Blu-ray combo pack has the following special bonus feature. “The Making of Stuck in Love” where writer/director Josh Boone tells how he got the idea for the script and how he chose his actors. Several actors talk about their characters and what the story is all about. They also good comments about Josh Boone’s direction adding credence to the job he has done.
The Blu-ray disc allows the full frame widescreen for 16×9 HD televisions with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. My favorite way to view a film at home it fills the screen top to bottom and side to side. The clarity is extremely good and the colors are vibrant. The bar scenes could have been better lighted giving better views of the characters, but it really doesn’t distract from the story.
The sound quality with the Dolby TrueHD 5.1 played through my television speaker system comes across fine for a romantic dramedy. If you have an upgraded system, you may get some surround side chatter during the bar scenes and a party. I found no issues with the sound with the DVD either. Since the film has no big action scenes or times when the musical soundtrack needs to give the movie emphasis, this movie has no need for extreme sound.
Stuck in Love has been rated R by the MPAA for language, teen drug and alcohol use, and some sexual content. There is a scene that’s quite startling that involves teen sex so be sure to watch the film before allowing immature adolescents to see it. I found the drug use to be a little shocking as well, but the film needed uplift in the drama area.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Greg Kinnear, Logan Lerman, Jennifer Connelly, Nat Wolff, Lily Collins, Kristen Bell and Liana Liberato
Director: Josh Boone
MPAA Rating: R for language, teen drug and alcohol use, and some sexual content.
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 36 min
Video Release Date: October 8, 2013
Original Film Release Date:
Language: English
Format: Blu-ray, DVD
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Video: Widescreen 16×9 Full Frame 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 Discs Combo Pack
Distributed by: Millennium Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
