Rating: 
Summary: Down, Down, Down
Review: "Down With Love" is a tribute to the Rock Hudson and Doris Day comedies of the early '60s. The movie begins with a series of colorful cartoons and has a wonderfully retro feel throughout. Set in 1962, the fanciful costumes, stage sets and music work seamlessly to provide delightful eye and ear candy for an hour and a half.Unfortunately, the acting ruins the movie. Cast in the lead role of Barbara Novak, Renée Zellweger is a Twiggy-esque version of Bridget Jones with a hidden vengeance. Her romantic interest, Catcher Block, is played by Ewan McGregor. The epitome of the decade's playboy stereotype, Block is self-propelled into a cat-and-mouse game with the ultra-feminist Novak. Simultaneously, Block's boss Peter MacMannus (David Hyde Pierce) is engaged in pursuit of Novak's editor, Vikki Hiller (Sarah Paulson). Pierce is highly typecast as the neurotic and insecure MacMannus. The plot centers around Novak's book, "Down With Love." Our heroine is a feminist touting the joys of sex without love, encouraging women to "enjoy it like a man does" because "love is a distraction" in the workplace. Forsake love for equality amongst men. Of course, the evil Block sets out to expose her true self to the world. Silliness ensues, with an inundation of sexual innuendo. Zellweger overacts, while Pierce seems flat. His character, Mac-Mannus, has no depth, adding little to the movie. McGregor is also a disappointment, except, perhaps, to the girl sitting across the aisle from me who audibly sighed at the sight of his naked and hairy torso. Block's character would have been better suited for a romantic-comedy veteran such as Hugh Grant. Young and wet behind the ears, McGregor doesn't satisfy as the conniving lead. With the exception of Paulson, the lead roles were ill-cast with actors who didn't seem to know the line between acting and exaggerating. There is a plot twist before the predictable happy Hollywood ending. Overly verbose in its explanation, the twist is not developed past the scene in which it occurs, leaving audiences unfulfilled. The ending is also too neat. The movie spends over an hour setting the scene, gives Novak several minutes for a monologue during the twist sequence and finally devotes a mere 15 minutes to a complete, simple and unsurprising resolution. Utterly unacceptable. As with that other three-word, visually stunning movie that ended with "Love" (and began with "Punch-Drunk"), "Down With Love" is not a winner. The Sunday afternoon showing I attended had an audience of at most 20 people, mostly elderly couples seeking a bit of nostalgia. College students, though, are unlikely to remember Rock Hudson or Doris Day -- especially not through a tribute like this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Up with "Down with Love"
Review: First, I confess: I loved the Doris Day-Rock Hudson genre. This film pays homage to those old flicks. If you liked them, you will love this tribute. If you didn't, you should skip this movie. However, if you don't know those movies and you like romantic comedy, you will most likely will enjoy your ninety minutes in this film.
Renee Zellwegger and Ewan McGregor charmed me as the two leads. They had chemistry, character and comedy in their sparring. David Hyde Pierce steals the film as the supporting friend of McGregor, a fussy bachelor with effete undertones.
You can enjoy a number of things about this movie. The clothes are fabulous and fun. The settings are faux cartoon versions of New York in the 1960's. A beatnik party, a bachelor pad, a swinging journalist's live-in office...it's a blast to watch. The plot is ridiculous, of course, though there is a twist near the end that didn't occur in those golden old days. The dialogue is far racier than that of the early 1960's. This movie is satire. It is a cartoon in many ways. (It makes "Maid in Manhattan" look like a documentary of the hotel industry in NY.) I can see how some people might think it is too over the top. You won't have the lump in your throat at the end that you might at other more "real" romantic comedies.But if you accept it for what it is, you can have a very pleasant night at the movies.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute, enjoyable movie. But.....
Review: Were there remote controls for TV's back in the early 60's?
Rating: 
Summary: Up with "Down"
Review: Maybe it's because I love classic movies that I loved "Down With Love" so much. The entire movie has a deliciously retro feel, in the Doris Day/Rock Hudson mold of "Pillow Talk" and similar films, and it only staggers once or twice. Overall it's a nice comedy -- not quite on the level of the films that inspired it, but a pleasant romantic comedy. It's the 1960s; women have jobs, but no respect. But things are about to change: Barbara Novak (Renee Zellweger) has written a groundbreaking ook for women: She advocates "a la carte sex," and a focus on business rather than romance, which will give women new power in the world. With the help of a ersistent editor Vikki (Sarah Paulson), "Down with Love" becomes an international bestseller. Up next is the first big publicity factor: an article in a hot men's magazine called Know, written by the prominent writer Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor). The problem? Block is a suave womanizer with a slew of quickie girlfriends (stewardesses) and a complete lack of respect for Novak. He keeps cancelling his business meetings (each cancelled meeting is another rendezvous with a stewardess), until Novak takes revenge on him by dissing him on a talk show. Block's love life immediately takes a downturn. What is Block going to do? He's going to scheme his way into Novak's affections as a sweet astronaut... let the hijinks begin. Critics have been judging "Down With Love" too harshly; frothy comedies are and have always been just that -- froth. You won't find deep currents in old favorites like "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" or "Roman Holiday," any more than you will in "Down With Love." It's funny, silly, cute, and Zellweger and McGregor look like they're having a great time. Admirably, the movie never strays into overkill -- it's a parody, but a restrained one. A wink is better than a nod, less is more, and other cliches. If this had been a full-blown spoof it would have lost some of its entertaining quality. A special note should be made of sets and costuming: as before, these are all reminiscent of old comedies and the pristine, over-the-top furnishings and clothes. They manage to avoid the tackier elements of the 1960s, though, and the result is a bright, cute, colorful backdrop to bright, cute dialogue. And it is cute -- sometimes a little too cute, but always fun to listen to. Zellweger is a fantastic comic actress, and she gives Barbara the right combination of sweetness, humor and fire. Ewan McGregor has never been more suave, slick and rarely has been so sexy. (With his chin, suit, voice and hair, he looks eerily like Cary Grant in some scenes) Sarah Paulson is also quite good as Vicki, Barbara's editor, and David Hyde Pierce is pretty good as Peter MacMannus. He does get annoying in some scenes, though. Looking for a deep, insightful, message-heavy movie? You won't like "Down With Love." But Zellweger and McGregor are immensely entertaining, in one of the few semi-successful romantic comedies.
Rating:
Summary: I'm Up with "Down"!
Review: This has to probably be one of the best movies I have seen (next to Moulin Rouge and the Matrix). I mainly went to this movie to see Ewan McGregor, but the storyline seemed so interesting. The plot focuses around a hometown girl named Barbara Novak (Renee) who writes a book called Down With Love, telling women to forget love and to have men "al la carte" just like men do. Ewan plays Catcher Block, a hotshot playboy journalist who is supposed to do a cover story on Novack, but he keeps avoiding the interview. When Novack's book gets world-wide attention, all men become controlled by their women and turn the world "upside-down," well at least by the 60s standard. Catcher decides he must make things right again so he disguises himself as the "perfect man" so he can get Barbara to fall in love with him, thus righting the world. The plot goes on from there. This movie is amazing . . . It has a great twist that romantic comdies like this never do. It was totally unexpected. Renee's monologue is spectacular and just watch Ewan's face after it - it's priceless! I definately suggest to you to go to this spectacular movie. Ewan is amazing - one of his best performances. He is an amazing actor; he can do just about everything! I'm going for a third time tomorrow! Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Clever Homage; Light-Hearted Romp
Review: There were those who questioned whether the world really *needed* to see a return to the "Pillow Talk" days of sex comedies. After all, it's not exactly like Rock Hudson/Doris Day flicks are the most popular rentals at the corner store. "Down With Love" answers those questions with a resounding raspberry. The romantic comedies of the early 60's were alive with youthful naivete, charm, and the wit it took to bring sex onto the screen during a rather repressed era. "DWL" looks back at those comedies with adoring affection. Our hero: Catcher Block (Ewan MacGregor), the kind of journalist who can "get the story" while spending the night with triplets and then helicoptering to work, walks the streets of New York as if the city's playing his own jazz soundtrack -- just right for a comeuppance. Our heroinne: Barbara Novak (Rene Zellweger), budding author and feminist, is the perfect foil for him (or so she appears), as the proud advocate of women's sexual liberation. Twists and turns abound -- Catcher refuses to interview Ms. Novak because she's a nobody, until she becomes the hottest author in New York and is too big to talk to Catcher (although she talks *about* him to a giddy press corps in unflattering terms). Catcher, his sex life cut off by Ms. Novak, decides to seduce her by pretending to be an astronaut, and then . . . well, silliness abounds. This "plot" is an excuse for brilliant writers to write brilliant lines for attractive actors to say brilliantly. The cast, including a hilarious David Hyde Pierce and even a cameo by a perfectly cast Tony Randall, is up to the challenge -- breathing life into a clever, zippy script. Set designers and costume designers must have fought over the chance to make this movie, as the sets and costumes are pop-60's on steroids. Catcher's "apartment" (what is the rent on that thing?) is a sight to behold, and so rakish that even the nerdy Pierce can make with the lovin' in that pad. At the end of the day, when all is right with the world and balance is restored to the universe, you might wonder what the point of the exercise was. The answer is simple, and was right in front of you the entire time -- the exercise is the point, and the exercise is style.
Rating:
Summary: Battle of the sexes--retro style!
Review: This movie returns to the beginning of women's lib. in the early 60's by spoofing the Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies, such as "Pillow Talk". Renee Zellweger plays a young woman who has written a book called "Down With Love" which advocates sex without commitment for women who can then be equal to men. Ewan McGregor is a male chauvinist who wants to prove that he can make her fall in love with him and thus abandon her position of equality of the sexes. The costumes and settings are a real throwback to the 60's as are the dialogue, background music, dancing and singing. There are a myriad of plot twists and turns at the end which make the movie even more fun. This will be nostalgia to the older folk and a view of the way it was to the younger generation.
Rating:
Summary: Hugely Satirical...Great Fun....Happily Self Knowing....
Review: ....and a lil perverse. Zellweger and McGregor play the fifties' campiness ala Hudson and Day for all it's worth. Hyde Pierce simply re-creates Niles Crane in a role that normally would go to Tony Randall in those Hudson/Day vehicles. The movie? It's colorful, Renee is a Doris Day clone, it's fake when it needs to be (apartment views are obviously painted backdrops, you get the split screen treatment and those naugahyde covered fold chairs and such...), it's got those Queer Eye overtones...,AND if you really get Novack's explanation of how she came to why she wanted to flip the switch on ol' Chase, then you truly get the No Prize. The rampant swingin' bedhopping must've been a shock to them folks who never seen Pillow Talk or The Thrill of It All...or mebee not. There is Austin Powers, doncha know. Besides, the innuendo was no where as near subtle as it was in those DD/RH flicks, so they do this movie as a "ain't it weird that the folks in the 50s-60s hadda swallow this farce" farce on top of the wink-wink in the way Day/Hudson did it. (Day acted like she was the Virgin's virgin back then and Hudson was a Manly Man. Get It? OK!)...What woulda made this one a true winner is if they got the reclusive Day to do a cameo...we can dream, can't we?
Rating:
Summary: Funny but you have to get the joke.
Review: I loved those Rock Hudson/Doris Day (w Tony Randall, he rocked!) movies! I think this one was fun, because I loved them so much, but I believe for someone who never saw one, they just wouldn't get the joke. I wasn't even born when the movies came out, but it is nice to "relive" them in this way. David Hyde Pierce is fantastic as the best friend/boss/Tony Randall type. He must have studied those facial expressions hours on end. Tony Randall, who plays Barbara Novaks publisher, makes a great appearance as well. Interesting that this was his last on screen roles, a film that is a homage to some of the movies he made in the 50s. The begining titles were well noted and cracked me up! If you see this without ever having seen anything with Doris Day before, go out and rent Lover Come Back/Pillow Talk/Send Me no Flowers...add Sex and the Single Girl (Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis) Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter and That touch of Mink too!
Rating:
Summary: 3.5 Stars for a short piece of fluffy fun.
Review: When Down with Love came out, I had no desire to see another movie where Renée Zwelleger squinting and making cutesy-pie faces at the camera. But when I saw the movie on cable, I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining it was. Down with Love is 95-minutes of silliness perfect for a Saturday night rental. In the movie, Ewan McGregor plays Catcher Block, ladies man extraordinaire and hot shot exposé writer for the men's magazine, No. Renée plays a Barbara Novak, an author who pens the feminist manifesto, Down with Love. Barbara declares that love and marriage are for the birds, and that the modern woman wants to work outside the home and have emotionless sex like a man. Barbara also swears that she is the epitome of the woman she writes about. Catcher Block takes it upon himself to expose Barbara, and prove that she wants what all women really want: love, marriage, a house in the suburbs, and a bunch of kids. To carry out his rouse, Catcher dons the disguise of a square, all-American astronaut, Zip Martin. His plan is to have Zip woo Barbara into declaring her love and trashing her manifesto. However, Barbara has her own rouse up her sleeve and aims to give Catcher his comeuppance. Down with Love then delivers an unseen surprise that brings down Catcher's whole philosophy on romance. This flick is a parody of the 1950s romantic-sex comedies made famous by Rock Hudson and Doris Day, and it plays the parody to the hilt complete with ridiculous double entendres and amusingly-corny sight gags. Ewan McGregor has great presence no matter what role he plays, and keeps your eyes drawn to the screen each time he appears. And his tongue-in-cheek playboy swagger will have you in stitches every time he makes a step. Some of the best laughs come from Catcher's unlucky-in-love editor and best friend, played by David Hyde Pierce with the ultimate Niles Crane and Felix Unger prissiness. (The prissiness is played so much so that his would-be love interest accuses him of being gay.) The only downside of Down with Love is that unless you've seen or read about the 1950s sex comedies, you have no point of reference for the jokes. Otherwise, it's a short piece of fluffy fun.
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