Accidental Love

I had the misfortune of seeing this film the other night. And this is someone who is a fan of David O. Russell. I love films like Three Kings, The Fighter, and Silver Linings Playbook, but this doesn't even feel like an O. Russell movie. It is the most baffling thing I've seen him make.

This movie does not know what it is trying to be; it's a slapstick comedy, but also a black comedy, but also a romantic comedy. This might be because it was written by three different people. Some of the comedic segments were painful to watch. At times this felt like the least funny Steve Martin kiddie comedy ever made.

Jessica Biel and Jake Gyllenhaal are quirky and have somewhat of a slight amount of chemistry between them, but this is not enough to save the movie. The supporting cast is only made up of cartoon characters.

Some of the songs and sound effects that you hear during certain segments are just bizarre. This is like watching a parody of what a bad David O. Russell movie would look like.

Overall, if you're a fan of Russell you don't really lose anything beside 100 minutes of your life by watching this film. But if you aren't a hardcore movie person and you just wanna watch a comedy for Friday night then avoid at all cost.

Deformed dick and prolapsed anus aside (yes, those are the "medical conditions" that make the characters rally for health-care), this movie can only be useful as a bad example for film-school.

An impressive benchmark how a movie filled with a great cast AND led by a good director can turn out REALLY bad. Even the premise is relatively original.

The certainly intentional overacting makes everyone a caricature but unfortunately reaps no laughs at all. None.

The political satire part squibbed because the movie is so far over the top that it can't be taken seriously. Politics serve just as setting not the focus of a persiflage.

If you want to see how director David O. Russel does a better job with about the same budget, watch "I Heart Huckabees", which I enjoyed quite a bit.

"Accidental Love" is a film which had HUGE production problems. The filmmakers ran out of money and the film sat for years. And, it was so famous for this that it was an entry in the book "The Greatest Films You'll Never See". Then, after being auctioned off years later, the film was completed...though many of the folks who had been working on the project refused to return to complete it! As a result, you have a movie that is, at times, a bit incomprehensible and confusing. Again, when you are trying to salvage a project, this isn't all that surprising.

What I DID find surprising were the reviews. Despite the weird way in which the film was completed, it was, at least in many parts, quite enjoyable....but there are quite a few reviewers that give it scores of 1 and talk as if it's the worst film ever made. Well, it simply isn't...or even close...to being the worst film. So why do so many attack the movie? Perhaps it's because the folks were angry about the film being in favor of national healthcare or the gay angle tossed into the story (completely out of the blue) towards the latter part of the movie. All I know is that I am guessing that folks hated it so much because of the film's message...which doesn't seem 100% fair. On the other hand, the film is at times so confusing and disjoint, I also couldn't understand a few reviews that gave the movie 10s and 9s. How could a film that took almost a decade to complete AND without all the crew and actors get a 9 or 10?! Both extremes seem unfair....and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

The first 30 minutes of the film (parts of which were added much later) worked very well. While you would think having a woman getting a nail shot into her head sounds unfunny, the whole thing was handled well and was funny. It was only when the afflicted woman went to Washington, DC, that things began to become confusing and, at times, kind of dumb. It's all a real shame, as there really was a germ of a great idea for this film...but after a while it just seemed to become incomprehensible and bizarre just for the sake of being bizarre. A mess...but a very interesting mess. Perhaps they should have just left this one on the shelf...though it was, occasionally, quite fun.

Budget:$26,000,000 (estimated) Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $24,487.

The wit and conceits are some of the best I've seen in a while. Super script. I loved it from the moment the swaggering trooper pulls up on his bike at the retro diner, his persona is written to a T. The engagement episode is to die for. Then the conceit of the nail, and the turn coat trooper.

I had to love it when the protagonist is told one side effect could be that she is likely to loose all kinds of inhibitions, which could be good when it came to making love.

Protagonist, "Maybe I can finally have an orgasm" Trooper quasi fiancé, "Honey that is so private. I already told you that 50 to 60 percent of women can't orgasm from intercourse." She, "What about you starting gentle like I asked, ant then taking it at an angle that I really like?" He,"Anyway, so..." So true.

The characters were all zany but believable. The politics were over the top with the right versus left: a moon army base station, versus a bill for catastrophic accidents health care like a nail in the head. It was all good irony and satire.

The making love scene in the rookie congressman's office was one of the best I have seen staged in a long time... nothing was shown but hands, legs, and things getting broken.

The aunt with her cigarette, and scalpel in hand, throwing back whiskey to steady the hands....too much.

I loved the fact that there was no profanity.Great actors. I loved everything about this. The dancing in the end was great. Actually watched it once while I was getting ready for work, belly laughing at some of the lines, certain ones subtle but significant if you listen up, then watched it again when I got home after dinner. Will watch it once more with my significant other. You watch it too. :)

This is somehow a black comedy with over-the-top situations and acting, with a mild, to-late-for-that lampoon about politics and government.

It is an expensive film. 26 millions are too much for what it really is.

The style it reminds movies from other decades. You even got Pee-wee Hermann in a secondary yet prominent role.

PLOT: It's about a young waitress who has a freaky accident that changed her life. She can't have health care and travels to Washington with some other mishaps to pass a health-care bill, only to realize the true face of politics.

Well, it is less than it sounds. The movie fails to feel big in that manner. The cast is OK and is doing its best to work with the weird script and material. Jessica Biel looks good and you can admire James Marsden's and Jake Gyllenhaal's effort to give life to their awkward characters. Tracy Morgan is also in this showing his lack of comedic talent, trying to deliver some deadpan oneliners.

There is song and a dance at the end that is somehow entertaining. You can fast forward to that.