Hope Springs (2012)

2/5

Hope Springs follows an aging married couple (Jones, Streep) who have spent 30+ years together, coexisting with frictionless perfection. But in so doing, they have lost whatever romance they once had. The movie never explains (to my satisfaction anyway) why they lost that intimacy, nor does it explore Streep's motivation for wanting it back. Regardless, they seek out the help of Dr. Feld (Carell) and his week-long intensive couples counseling. The movie is billed as a romantic comedy (I think), but it's more a series of awkward encounters that did little more than gross me out.

I mean, I will admit it had the occasional saccharine moment and life lesson strewn about, but these pleasantries were just surrounded by uncomfortable situation after uncomfortable situation. I can't look back on this movie with anything but disgust. It is made for a specific age group and I believe it can only truly be appreciated by that age group. (Imagine, if you will, a kids movie where characters eat their own boogers; kids might find it hilarious, but it's just a disturbing image for everyone else.)

I realized very early on that I am much too young to be watching Hope Springs. But I kept watching until the grisly end. That's the problem with my obsessive-compulsive personality: finishing things that don't need to be finished. This movie may very well be a good movie for people who emerged from their midlife crises 2 decades ago, but I am certainly not its target audience. Unless you're about to become a Medicare beneficiary, I would not recommend you see this film.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1535438/

Marley & Me (2008)

3/5

Marley & Me is pretty typical family-friendly fare for a quiet night in with the kids. The plot follows Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston as John and Jenny Grogan, a newly-married couple who both write for a living. John, not yet wanting kids but wanting to satisfy his wife's desire to take care of something, decides to take the advice of his friend and get a puppy. That puppy grows into the "world's worst dog," as they like to refer to him, but his endearing antics and (literal) puppy dog face make it impossible to hate him. Marley simultaneously enriches and ruins their lives as they start a family, work past marital disputes, and deal with the stresses of parenthood and work. It's all a very simple story that takes few risks and reaps few rewards. There are no bad guys and no mistakes in their near-perfect, sugar-coated life, but they do experience some ups and downs thrown their way by random chance. Although it is unrealistically portrayed, there were a few key humorous and emotional moments that kept my attention and helped this movie stand out from all the other entries into the "family pet" genre. If you were interested in it, it will not disappoint you; but if you weren't interested in it, it will fail to surprise you.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0822832/