LEAP YEAR (2010)

How many times have you seen this movie: girl is thrown together with boy, girl hates boy because he's rude and obnoxious, girl and boy engage in a war of wits, are coerced into kissing, somehow end up sharing a bed; ultimately, girl sees boy as hunky and virile, girl and boy fall in love? It's as old as The Taming of the Shrew. In the case of the film Leap Year, our Shakespearian stand-ins are Matthew Goode and Amy Adams and the scene is set in Ireland. Now certainly, Adams is a very fine actress as evidenced in films such as Doubt, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and Julie & Julia. But it's baffling why she would choose to do this film other than perhaps the fact that her red hair looks good against the landscape of the Emerald Isle and the high heels and tight skirts she wears while tromping through muddy fields nicely set off her perky butt.

It's baffling why she would choose to do this film other than perhaps the fact that her red hair looks good against the landscape of the Emerald Isle. OK, so here's the plot: Anna (Adams) wants her dull and predictable boyfriend (Adam Scott) to propose. He goes to Dublin for a medical conference, and she decides to take advantage of the Irish tradition of Leap Year and fly there, surprise him and propose. But low and behold, the fates transpire to prevent her from getting to him before February 29, instead, plopping her in a podunk town in rural Ireland. There, Declan (Goode), the handsome yet irascible owner of an inn, agrees to drive her to Dublin and, of course, falls in love with her along the peril-fraught way. The rest is easy to predict. Every moment of this movie is easy to predict. However there are a few redeeming aspects, most notably among them, the scenery. It's almost as if director Anand Tucker was determined to make a film, any film, in Ireland in order to show off the island's great beauty. In this, he succeeds. Leap Year is visually a wonder: vast green hills, dramatic cliffs, soaring castles; it definitely keeps you watching. And then there's the adorable Matthew Goode and the natural charm and appeal of Amy Adams which manage to shine through no matter how lame the script. Don't rush out to the video store for this one but when you eventually get around to watching it, you'll find you know what to expect from the very first frame, even if you've long forgotten about this review.

Movie reviewed by Georgina Young-Ellis

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