Greetings,
I think that one of the best pieces of advice I can give anyone is that, if you don't want to be written about, don't talk about yourself around a writer. You'll notice I didn't even say "to" a writer; I said "around". Yes, if you have secrets to keep, do not have loose lips in the presence of a writer, because most of us will take that and slip it into the current magnum opus upon which we are working. Although, if you are a narcissist, spill you guts, I say. See, the reason why I tell you this is because, we writers, while making many things up, often take elements from real life to layer into our fiction. And, frankly, most of us don't care from whose real life it's coming. Good thing this is all perfectly legal, so long as we're careful to change enough things, like names, hair color, whatnot. Seriously, be careful! Because slander lawsuits are a thing, too. Anyway, why am I bringing this up? Well, real life seeping into fiction is the main theme of Alex and Emma.
Alex and Emma is a 2003 romantic comedy movie. Yep, it sure is. And when I say that this is a romantic comedy, I mean that in the strictest way possible. This thing (spoilers!) has every, single trope of that genre. I mean, WHAT! First, they don't like each other, then they learn to like each other, then they fall in love? Misunderstandings that lead to hurt feelings? A third act breakup? Again, I say, WHAT! They certainly did a dive into that genre pool and didn't come up for air. But this is directed by Rob Reiner, so not his first time. And yet...I sort of like this movie. Heaven help me, I know. Maybe because, while it does have the most generic plot foundation, what was built on top was a little bit unique. So let's talk about it.
Our lead male character in the movie is Alex Sheldon, played by Luke Wilson, who I probably had a crush on at the time. Go figure. He's a writer who had some success with his previous novel but can't seem to come up with something new. He has been so unsuccessful, as of late, that he lives in a crappy apartment and has run out of money. Not good, because he has to repay a $100,000 debt to the Cuban mafia within 30 days. Just go with it. He goes to his publisher, played by Rob Reiner pulling double duty, but he won't give Alex the money until he finishes a new manuscript for his next novel. Everyone caught up? If he finishes his novel in a month, he'll get a crap ton of money. Wow, I wish I could get that much cash for something I could churn out in that amount of time. I could purchase the world, at the rate I go. Moving on.
Due to an unfortunate incident, Alex is left with no laptop, which means he can't write his novel. Because pens and pencils and flippin' spiral notebooks do not exist in this universe. Anyway, he decides to hire a stenographer named Emma Dinsmore, played by Kate Hudson, who I was probably able to tolerate at this time. Of course, he tricks her into coming to his apartment, because that's not creepy and we have to build as much distrust as possible, so when they inevitably fall in love, we don't see it coming. Right. Now, Emma is a woman who we could call cautious and practical. She really has no desire to get involved with this shaky project, but Alex convinces her to stay by beginning to weave an interesting tale that will hopefully grow to a whole book.
So, here's where things get sort of interesting. As Alex writes and Emma types a story about a man named Adam Shipley who goes to work for a French family in the 1920's, we see those scenes acted out by the same actors. Alex is Adam, Emma is the au pair, whose name, nationality and overall makeup constantly changes. As the days go by, the real life story and the fictional story evolve alongside each other. Hence, real life affected made up life. As it tends to do with writers. But, in a nice little twist, we see how that can also work the other way, too.
As far as the cast goes, I don't mind anyone. I think everyone did a decent job, and, aside from the leads and the aforementioned acting Rob Reiner, we get some good work from Sophie Marceau, David Paymer, and even Cloris Leachman in a micro-cameo that lasts about twenty seconds. Twenty seconds for which she probably got paid more than I get in a year. I can forgive. Look, nobody full-on sucked in this thing, so...yay.
Now, despite some of the jabs I took at Alex and Emma, I can manage to guilty pleasure my way through this. And I am nowhere near as harsh as the other, more legitimate critics, like the ones on Rotten Tomatoes where this is given an 11%. Crap, even That's My Boy has a 20. But I digress. Look, this is not a masterpiece, by any means, but, for some reason, I get a kick out of it. So, if any of this sounds appealing to you, and if it's on TV some night, give it a whirl.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
