The music and cinematography save Tumbledown from dropping below average and actually provide good reasons to see this drippy romance. Ordinary, unexciting and straight laced, the film tries to keep its audience compelled, but there’s no chemistry between the main stars to even make it heartfelt. Billed as a romantic comedy, the plot gets out of hand leaning more to a drama with restrained humor. If you just have to see another film starring Jason Sudeikis, then ladies this may be one decision you may want to reconsider.
It’s been two years since the mysterious death of Hannah’s (Rebecca Hall) singer songwriter husband Hunter Miles, yet she still has a yearning that he’s never left her side. She visits his grave and plays his ten song album in her pick-up truck. Not odd at all for this young woman who gave her heart to a man that wrote ballads about their life together. Her mother (Blythe Danner) wants her to move on, but living in this very small town in Maine doesn’t give her much chance. Besides, everyone knew Hunter and knows she’ll never let him go. Her closest escape from him takes place every time Curtis (Joe Manganiello), the area telephone pole wrangler, stops by for a quickie.
On an uneventful day Andrew McCabe (Jason Sudeikis), a professor in American Studies at Hofstra, calls Hannah wanting to do a biography on her late husband. Already writing one on the singer, she refuses. Being a persistent guy, he sticks around town waiting for an opening to make his case. So begins a relationship that takes a few twists and turns on its way to solving a puzzle of mind and heart.
Faulting the acting may not be the right thing here, but there’s very little if any chemistry between Sudeikis and Hall. Maybe it’s because of the factors involved with each of them or that the vibe between them isn’t just right. In fact the relationship that starts out cold, gets even colder as the film plays out before a glorious predictable finale. Fleshing out Sudeikis’s character Andrew gets a little muddy. He’s this well respected professor on pop culture that has his classes dancing on his every word. He’s also in a relationship with Finley (Dianna Agron) who loves and supports him in his quest to get an interview with Hannah. In the short period of time he’s smitten by Hannah and even welcomed by her parents. Dirty dog.
As for Hall, she’s a lose woman who takes advantage of Curtis for her “needs” yet respects what she had with Hunter. Lost in Hunter’s melodies, she resists any kind of permanent affection. She’s a set-up for the Andrew who sees her as a real relationship for him even if it means breaking up the one he already has. Then there’s the mysterious death of her husband Hunter that has never been really resolved. Likable? The two may be meant for each other, but it felt like just another roll in the hay about to happen.
Tumbledown has a special extra called “The Making of Tumbledown”. The 22 minute bonus features Desi van Till writer of the film who calls it a “love letter to Farmington” her home town. Her introduction leads into producer, actor and director comments about the characters and players.
Tumbledown has been rated R by the MPAA for a sex scene. If that’s what you want to call it. That scene even looks contrived in order to move the film into a more palatable audience that would probably not even look at it had it been rated PG-13.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Just another uncreative predictable romance that loses its punch after the first 20 minutes. (C)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Jason Sudeikis, Dianna Agron, Blythe Danner, Griffin Dunne, Joe Manganiello, Richard Masur
Directed by: Sean Mewshaw
MPAA Rating: R for a sex scene
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Music
Running Time: 1 hr. 45 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date: February 5, 2016
Video Release Date: April 5, 2016
Language: English
Reviewed Format: Blu-ray (also available in DVD)
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Anchor Bay
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
