Friends & Lovers

I didn't think this was such a bad movie. I've certainly seen worse. As for Robert Downey Jr.'s accent, it was supposed to be bad (his character was from New Jersey!). I like Danny Nucci, and I wish I could see him get better roles. All in all, I think this is a fair movie. 5/10

'Friends & lovers' is not all that bad to deserve this low a rating. It may not be iconic but it manages to make you chuckle throughout. I probably would have given this movie a miss had I not been reading Downey's biography. I just got curious to see the pre-Iron Man movies of Downey & I am not disappointed.

The plot is simple. Friends decide to go skiing when one of their dads invites them over. In this journey they find their partners and mend their bonds. Finally all is well that ends well.

Robert Downey Jr's role, although brief, keeps your eyes glued to him. This is probably one of his most sassiest yet cheesy performance. I guess the role required him to be that. His German accent is quiet funny. The highlight of the movie is when Downey reveals that he is from New Jersey & not Germany. That explains the fake accent I guess. I quiet fell for his funky hairdo.

Worth a watch. You will enjoy it better with like minded friends.

Okay, this movie isn't necessarily as god-awful as many of these reviews would suggest, but I have to agree it is a waste of time and talent. A group of reasonably engaging performers (Robert Downey, Jr., George Newbern, Stephen Baldwin and the amazingly sexy Leon) are on display here, but the movie suffers from sitcom-like superficiality and terribly amateurish direction (from George Haas, who may never work again after this mess.)

Basically a sexed-up romantic comedy about a groups of friends vacationing at a ski lodge, "Friends and Lovers" has its moments of fun and frivolity. But the film is full of ludicrous "anatomy" jokes and pointless nudity, and the aforementioned direction by Haas is sloppy and laughably inept. The echoing effects in the ski slope scenes are preposterous, and the blocking of the performers is straight out of a high school play, with the actors facing the camera talking sideways to each other.

Perhaps in the hands of a competent director, a good movie might have been made. This isn't it.

Okay, so they're twenty-somethings. Okay, so they've got problems or whatever. But does it strike anyone as odd that these guys tool around in Land Rovers and E-class Mercedes'? And, if they've got the cash for their little romps, why do they road-trip to their ski resort rather than fly? The first twenty minutes alone kill the film, the rest is just its fall to the ground.

With a cast like this, you figure the film shouldn't be that bad, but believe me it is. The cast are fighting a losing battle from the start, Robert Downey Jr, should kick himself for getting wrapped up in this film, and as for his accent, the Bavarians have probably put a Fatwa out on him. Claudia Schiffer, shows some potential, but the gag that she falls for a guy with the line "Have you ever considered being a model?" is so thin, it makes Twiggy look over weight. Alison Eastwood also shows potential, but again drowns in the watery story. If this was a kids report card, the phrase 'Can do much better' would be the the one that stands out