We see a husband. And his wife. She makes his breakfast every morning, while he reads the paper. They have dinner together, he falls asleep in front of the TV, then they part ways to sleep in their own bedrooms for the night. Here is a film that makes observations about what it expects married life is like, yet makes no assertions of its own. We as an audience are not watching a film made by story tellers, rather a film that is content to just sit and watch what the script provides.
On a whim, Kay (Meryl Streep) reads a book about successful marriages and books a therapy weekend with the author (an uninspired Steve Carrell). Finally convincing her husband, Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) to come with, the film settles into clunky scenes of therapy while we are supposed to find Tommy Lee Jones talking about oral sex amusing. The comedy employed is simply flat, and the dramatic moments are equally stiff.
As with any summer movie starring Meryl Streep, the ending is happy (though I won't spoil anymore here). Streep, fresh off her Oscar win for The Iron Lady, gets a pass here. The actors try their best, but there is nothing in Hope Springs that excited or amused me, even in the slightest. This was one movie I wish I didn't feel obligated to have seen.
(Awards potential: No awards potential)
No comments:
Post a Comment