DVD
30 Second Bottom Line: Sarah (Brittany Murphy) and Tom (Ashton Kutcher) are two young people who are in their early 20's and who after meeting on the beach, decide to get married a month and a half later. As soon as they get married they go on a honeymoon from hell in Europe.
Story Line: Tom is a young graveyard shift weather and traffic radio personal. Sarah is the rich daughter of a Los Angeles Sports manager tycoon. One day Tom is playing football with his buddies and his pass hits Sarah in her face. They meet. They have sex the first night. A month and a half later passes and they decide to get married.
After their wedding, Tom and Sarah are off to Europe. Once they get to Europe everything goes wrong including sex objects blowing out the electricity of an elegant hotel, Tom and Sarah's smart car getting stuck in snow, and the arrival of Sarah's ex-boyfriend Kyle (David Moscow) in Venice. As if things couldn't get any worse, Tom and Sarah hate each other after a few days and want to get a divorce when they get back to Los Angeles. Can you guess what happens when they get back to Los Angeles? I'll give you a hint - they either realize they are perfect for each other when they are apart or they move on.
Tell Me More About It: Does the plot to Just Married sound thin to you? Well the answer should be yes because the movie could be summed up in one sentence if it was necessary. Some romantic comedies succeed even when they follow the romantic comedy formula (meet, hate each other, fall in love or meet, fall in love, hate each other, then realize they are in love) - but that is only when the film goes beyond the call of duty. That could mean the chemistry is good between the two main characters, the writing and the comedy is actually witty and funny or that the performers give off an undeniable charm. Just Married achieves some of that, but in the end, just not enough.
Sure Ashton Kutcher is funny as Tom, but Brittany Murphy is a little bit annoying as Sarah. Sure some of the slapstick in the film is funny, but a lot of it falls flat as well. And sure the chemistry is cute between the main characters for some of the film - but in the end, the film felt just a little bit dry. For instance, in a comedy the viewer should feel as if the unfortunate circumstances that happen to the main characters are actually accidents, not as if the main characters know they are in a movie and have to do stupid things just to make the audience laugh. This basically means that a lot of times during the film, the comedy just seem unnatural and a bit forced.
The set up for the main plot in Europe is so small; that it almost seems as if the movie should have just began at Tom and Sarah's vacation in Europe. Yet for all of the film's faults, I have to give it some credit. The idea to have the film set in mainly Venice was an original touch as well as the charisma that Ashton Kutcher brings to the role of Tom - it is always nice to see an up and coming energetic young actor enthusiastic in his work - no matter what the material may be.
Basically this film is everything you'd probably come to expect after seeing the trailer. As matter of fact, many funny parts of the preview were the best parts of the movie - so be warned. Yet for many other people, I think this film will come off as a cute romantic comedy. And for all that its worth, the movie definitely could have been a lot worse. Yet in the end - Just Married is just alright.
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