Rating: 
Summary: Zany Retro Battle of the Sexes Comedy
Review: It's 1962, and the streets of New York are bustling with business and alive with color. Barbara Novak (Renée Zellweger) has arrived in the big city to visit the publisher of her new book "Down With Love", a self-help guide for women whose personal and professional progress are being hindered by their need for male companionship. Barbara's editor Vikki (Sarah Paulson) has arranged an interview with "Know" magazine's star journalist Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), which is sure to grab the attention of the reading public and make the book fly off the shelves. Catcher is a suave playboy bachelor, a "ladies' man, man's man, man about town", who prides himself on being exactly the kind of man that "Down With Love" cautions against, and so he is reluctant to meet with Barbara. But when he sees a photograph of her, Catcher realizes his mistake in assuming that she was a dowdy spinster. He concocts a plan to seduce Barbara into betraying her "down with love" philosophy so that he might write an exposé revealing her as a fraud, and he uses himself as bait. A battle of wits and sexes ensues as Barbara and Catcher duel to see who will betray her/his convictions first in the name of love."Down With Love" is startling evidence of how time marches on. Now "period" films depict the latter half of the twentieth century, which much of their audience still remembers vividly. Director Peyton Reed and writers Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake have modeled "Down With Love" on the romantic comedies of the late 1950s and early 1960s that were typified by the popular "Pillow Talk" starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day. But Peyton Reed has gone one better than his 20th century inspirations: "Down With Love" is racier in its innuendo than its predecessors. And where the comedies of Hudson and Day strived to look realistic to the day, "Down With Love" embraces the hyper-realism of a heavily stylized and whimsical New York City as seen through the eyes of Hollywood idealism. The attention to detail in this film is incredible. The costumes and sets are perfectly suited to the time and carefully chosen from among the most expressive post-war designs. Some of the still backgrounds are lavishly painted sets. And director Reed has gone so far as to use vintage film footage behind some of the street scenes. Truly, "Down With Love" is a film-lover's film. It is a period film that combines cinematic techniques and popular themes from both the era that it depicts and the present time in which it was made. And it does so on a grand scale, utilizing fantastic talent in set and costume design, cinematography, and digital effects. But is it successful as a romantic comedy? I think it is as long as the audience isn't looking for a situation it can "relate" to. "Down With Love" doesn't take place in the real worlds of 1962 or 2003. But Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger throw themselves full throttle into their performances, resulting in characters that are immensely entertaining to watch. David Hyde Pierce of "Frasier" fame is brilliantly funny as Catcher Block's employer and friend, Peter. This may be the best work Pierce has done. He tends to steal the scenes he is in, even from McGregor's considerable presence. For "Star Trek" fans, Jeri Ryan has a supporting role as one of Catcher's many mistresses, which she doesn't hesitate to play over the top. "Down With Love" is a zany battle of the sexes comedy that's as heavy on style as it is on humor. I enjoyed it much more than I do the circa-1960 comedies that it emulates, perhaps because those are just silly, while this is self-consciously silly and brilliantly crafted. "Down With Love" won't appeal to people who can't get past the striking set design or period manners. But I found the whole thing a pleasure to just sit and take in. The DVD: The bonus features include a director's commentary which can be enabled on playback; several television segments that appear in the movie; deleted scenes; hair and wardrobe tests; a blooper reel; documentaries about the film's locations, sets, costumes, music, and techniques; and an HBO special. I recommend the documentaries and the "Here's To Love" television performance. This is a cute song and dance number starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor that runs during the closing credits, but it's much better viewed full screen from the extras package. All in all, a good DVD package.
Rating: 
Summary: People have no brains. This is a GREAT flick.
Review: The split-screen effect is cheesie? Pardon me, folks, but that was INTENTIONAL. The acting is shallow? Earth-to-stupidpeople: That was INTENTIONAL. Fluffy? I don't know what that means. Rent it, buy it, etc
Rating:
Summary: The New Becomes Old and the Old New Once Again
Review: The age old and sometimes tired comedy revolving around the battle of the sexes comes to life in a fresh and original way in the romantic comedy DOWN WITH LOVE. Renee Zellweger is Barbara Novack, a woman who writes a feminist manifesto in the early 1960's. Her nemesis is the heartthrob journalist Catcher Block played by Ewan Mc Greggor. The plot of the film is rather simple. Novack and Block each try to discredit the other, but accidentally fall in love. Supporting characters Sarah Paulson as Vicki Hiller and David Hyde Pierce as Peter McManus, friends of Novack and Block respectively, add humor to the movie without taking away from the stars. This is especially true of the character played by Hyde Pierce. The movie is set in 1962, rather than 2003. This is probably what makes the film work. The viewer automatically thinks of a Doris Day/Rick Hudson sort of film. The film is both a spoof of the earlier films, yet it also shows respect fore the contributions of these films to the world of entertainment. Of course, whenever a movie is for sale, there is the eternal question: Should I rent it or buy it? Movie buffs will certainly want this film in a collection since it is bound to become a classic. I have now viewed it twice, and I am finding certain one liners in it that I missed the first time, so my verdict is that one should buy it. It's a fun movie that could very well become timeless.
Rating:
Summary: The S Back in Sixties
Review: Down With Love was a nice little surprise of a movie that although is not a masterpiece, it is still an enjoyable cute gentle escapism, the likes of which we rarely see these days.
The film is a romantic comedy in the old fashioned sense of the word, clean, witty, and nice to watch, with a fine cast headed by an incredibly sweet Rene Zellweger and a dashingly devious Ewan McGregor,with good support from David Hyde Price, at his neurotic best, and a sexy Sarah Paulson.
Tony Randall makes a very nice comeback, and while his role is rather short, he adds a lot to the movie.
I was very much impressed by the minute details and visible great effort the director Peyton Reed, and production team took to give an authentic sixties setting,atmosphere, accessories and music.While Austin Powers revival of the period was hilarious but over the top, Down with Love delicately put the 'S-es' back in the sixties,
Sex,Style,Swing,and Suave.This revival in my opinion was such a success that I expected Doris Day or Audrey Hepburn to appear in a scene!!
The DVD is loaded with extras, with several documentaries that are very interesting to watch.
So, Down with Love might not be a film that will blow your mind, but it is still a nostalgic ode to the sixties that will leave you with a smile or two.
Rating: 
Summary: Avoid this film!!
Review: I am a fan of classic movies and I LOVED the Doris Day/Rock Hudson films. So I eagerly looked forward to seeing this film. If done right, I'm not opposed to "remakes". But this film is a perfect example of why so many people are. It's difficult to imagine how this film could've been worse. Aside from a few borrowed plot devices and being set in the same era, this film had nothing in common with the Day/Hudson films. The whole point of those films was that Day was an innocent, decent, "good-girl" while Hudson was the womanizing playboy. They was exact opposites, which is why she was so appalled by his life style, and why he eventually ended up falling in love with her (because she was so different from the girls he dated). In "Down With Love", Zellweger's character is going around telling women to sleep with any man they meet. It could hardly be more different. I felt that Zellweger's acting was fake and over-the-top. McGregor was much better at pulling off a Rock Hudson like character, especially when he was portraying Zip Martin. But, overall, the whole first half of the film was so badly done it seemed almost cartoonish. It was like a bad "Saturday Night Live" skit. However, what I found the most disturbing were the MANY "off-color" sex jokes. Sure, the Day/Hudson films had some sexual innuendoes in them, but there were usually subtle and infused into the plot. In "Down With Love" the jokes were more they just innuendo. They were obvious, trashy, crass, crude, offensive, and completely gratuitous. It seemed they used any excuse to throw in a dirty joke every few minutes. The only bright spot in this film was the excellent performance given by the always wonderful David Hyde Pierce. His portrayal of Tony Randall's character was dead on. To sum up, avoid this film at all costs!! If you long for the feel of those great early 60s romantic comedies, go watch "Pillow Talk" or "Lover Come Back" because "Down With Love" doesn't even come close.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie - Horrible Transfer
Review: Maybe because I love Doris-and-Rock-type comedies, I found DOWN WITH LOVE an absolutely enchanting reworking of the formula, sparkling with brilliant Technicolor-like images, gorgeous sets and costumes, and spectacular CinemaScope (actually, Panavision) photography. I couldn't wait to own the DVD. Given that audiences in general didn't much care for the story or the genre to make it a hit in theaters, I was seriously hoping Fox would take advantage of the DVD medium to showcase the visual side of this movie. I thought they would perhaps work the picture angle and market the DVD for the film's many aesthetic merits. Imagine my disappointment when I came home with the DVD today to find the image transfer to be the weakest since, well, the first LAWRENCE OF ARABIA comes to mind: dull, way too dark, extremely soft, weak overall, looking more like a tired VHS tape than a modern DVD. I was heartbroken. I just don't understand how these things can happen. I mean, this version of DWL has decent extras, including a director's track. You would think with the amount of work that went into it, someone might have raised a flag, especially since this title is not likely to be reissued anytime soon. My humble word of advice to anyone with high hopes for this title: beware, the picture quality is so bad it's distracting. If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, you will find yourself wishing for what could have been and hardly able to enjoy what you've got.
Rating:
Summary: A Cute Film
Review: Down With Love is a remake of the film Pillow Talk (1959) with
Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Pillow Talk is a classic
romance/comedy and is a 10 out of 10 in my opinion
I always say, never remake a terrific movie
because you can't recreate the fantastic cast of actors.
Down with Love is a nice film and worth a viewing but
you just can't recreate the suave smoothness and humor of Rock
Hudson's character, nor the good acting of Doris Day or Tony
Randall. If a film has been done to perfection, why try to remake
it?? The innuendos in Down with Love are cute and amusing. But the
split screen filming of the two characters is badly done
it needs to be redone. I kept thinking while watching it...
what amature photographer did they hire? Because this part
of the film is so clumsily filmed. Also the ending of the movie starting with Renee's long winded
stupidly worded speech, needs to be tossed on the cutting room
floor and a new script writer hired to write a different ending
to the film. And while the wardrobe for the film was very nice, you can't
recreate the exquisite clothing of the late 50s and early 60s.
The hats in the movie were atrocious and the huge white collar
on Renee's pink check suit was ridiculous and they in no way
show the stylish sophistication and tailoring of the clothing
of that era. All and all though, I recommend the film. It's cute and
amusing.
Rating:
Summary: Down with love? Up with this movie.
Review: Down with love is such a cute movie. It is like a classic Doris Day movie with an Austin Powers flare. Really funny. Really cute. A must have for any movie collection.
Rating:
Summary: Hysterical
Review: This was like an old-fashioned romantic comedy, and a little bit sexier.
Rating:
Summary: 60s Retro Never Looked Better!
Review: DOWN WITH LOVE, director Peyton Reed's homage/spoof of the Doris Day/Rock Hudson sex comedies of the early 60s, is a delightful bit of fluff in a movie season filled with inferior sequels and overwrought epics. Dazzling to watch, with Givenchy-inspired costumes (if Daniel Orlandi does not receive an Oscar for his work, his peers should turn in their Designer cards), wonderfully over-the-top sets (EVERYBODY in those 60s films lived in apartments you could land airplanes in), and a 'More 1963 New York than 1963 New York' look (created on the studio back lot, with ample support from CGI), the film would deserve a viewing even if the cast never uttered a line of dialog! Fortunately, the script, by Eve Ahlert and Dennis Drake, is wickedly funny, full of the politically incorrect double entendres that were as close as Hollywood could get to actual 'naughtiness', 30 years ago (and, yes, there are more than a few present that WOULD have been censored, even then). The story, of a woman who writes a best-selling 'self-help' book eschewing the necessity of men for any more than 'casual sex', and the 'Hugh Hefner'-like writer who turns his prodigious charms to work, in the guise of a naive astronaut, to win her love, and thus discredit her theories, would have fit Doris Day and Rock Hudson to a 'T'. While Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor lack their role models' charisma, they have a pleasant chemistry together, and the 'split-screen' phone call scenes between the pair are even racier than the Day/Hudson 60s versions. If the leads seem a bit bland, the supporting cast more than makes up for any shortcomings. In a role that SHOULD garner a 'Supporting Actor' Oscar nomination, David Hyde Pierce takes on the part assumed by Tony Randall or Gig Young in those 60s farces, that of the put-upon, neurotic, sometimes prissy friend of the hero. He is superb, even SOUNDING like Tony Randall, and steals every scene he's in. His 'opposite number', friend of the heroine Sarah Paulson, while not quite at Pierce's level, is still quite funny as a chain-smoking career woman who would chuck it all for the right man. And, in a FABULOUS piece of casting, the MAN himself, Tony Randall, appears as the book publisher whose bestseller is RUINING his love life. At 83, the man can still toss off a funny line... With a very inventive 'twist-within-a-twist' climax, and Marc Shaiman's evocative score punctuating the proceedings, DOWN WITH LOVE is a delight! Among the additional features that make this DVD a plus for your collection are featurettes about the costume and set design (you can see the joy everyone felt, recreating the era they grew up in), two making-of documentaries, a VERY funny blooper reel (McGregor asks, after blowing a cue, "Who am I?" to which an off-screen voice replies, "Obi-Wan..."), deleted scenes (including one set in a beautifully artificial Central Park), and the musical number, 'Down with Love', sung and danced by Zellweger and McGregor in a mock 60s TV variety show set. While I won't deny that DOWN WITH LOVE isn't for everyone, if you love a good sophisticated comedy, or those wonderful farces of Day and Hudson, I don't think you'll be disappointed!
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