"Waiting for Forever" held it's World Premiere at the Santa Barbara International film festival in February and since then it as been at a host of festivals. I just attended a premiere screening at the Gen Art Film Festival on Thursday April 8, 2010 in New York City. In the audience sat the director James Keach, writer Steve Adams and several actors and actresses from the film including Rachel Bilson, Tom Sturridge, and Blythe Danner. Below is what I thought of the film and how it ranked compared to films similar to its own genre.
The basic premise of "Waiting for Forever" is about a guy named Will (Tom Sturridge) who has been in love with his best friend Emma (Rachel Bilson) ever since they were little. This is his story about confronting the woman he loves and what it took for him to finally do that. Why he has fallen head over heels for this woman is discussed in the film, as well as the battle of how hard it is sometimes to be honest with the people you love. A somewhat touching yet average film ensues...
Reading the premise above you're probably thinking to yourself, I have seen this film a million times before so why in gods name should I devote 2 hours of my life to this film? I wish I could honestly tell you a good reason because just as it attempts to be different, its dull storyline tends to get in its way. The reason why Will loves Emma is definitely interesting and unique, however, the rest of the film is not. The movie comes off as your typical friend loves friend storyline. The film even tries to throw in sub relationship story lines such as the parents relationship played by the talented Blythe Danner and Richard Jenkins but that subplot just bored me. The storyline doesn't really cash in on how unique the film could be but instead takes the easy way out and therefore just leaves you saying been there, done that.
Tom Sturridge puts on his best "Benny & Joon" impression and does it well. He is probably the most likable character in the film. Sadly about half way through the film his character seems to stop growing so even Will becomes dull but he definitely did a good job with the material he had to work with. Rachel Bilson, who is definitely a good looking woman, does alright here. I hate to say it but I just don't think she has real star power, at least not yet. She does a good enough job for Emma at least for a film of this caliber. Richard Jenkins and Blythe Danner are OK but since they are more established actors both of them have done better films in the past. Like I said they do OK here. As I said even the acting was average.
In conclusion there isn't really much to say about this film...it's your typical love story with a little bit of an interesting story mixed in. The story wears off quickly as the viewer is hoping to see something more out of the ordinary but just gets what would be expected from a film like this. This movie isn't worth a trip to the multiplex, probably not even worth a DVD rental to be fair. I would say this is one of those films that you catch on cable one day and just don't expect much from it and you should be OK.
MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Waiting for Forever" is an 5 out of 10.
