'Til There Was You

Sometimes a movie is too ironic and self-parodying for its own good. This brilliant and cleverly-conceived film, despite having been panned by critics and drubbed by fans, deserves a hard second look by those with sufficient vision to look beyond the apparent formula of the film to see the deft irony that lies (not very far) beneath the surface.

This film comes disguised as a romantic comedy. Indeed, it has all the fantasy elements of the genre: endlessly falling flower petals; attractive men and women initially at odds with one another; the protagonist's self-discovery; and (ultimately) a lush, romantic setting. It doesn't spoil the film one whit to say that it even has the traditional rom-com ending of "girl gets boy" -- in fact, isn't that de rigeur for a romantic comedy?

But beneath the trappings of the eternal quest for love lie uncomfortable truths that this movie keeps sprinkling among the rose petals for the viewer to confront: people betray one another's trust for casual or selfish motives; trusting one's heart to "love" leads as often to heartache as it does to fulfillment; what looks like love from one person's viewpoint is often something very different from the other side; being too needy for love stifles talent and ambition; and happy endings sometimes only appear that way.

Looked at as an ironic commentary on the imperfections and uncertainties of love and of the fantasy of "happily ever after," this film is nearly perfect. Looked at as a straightforward romantic comedy, it's awful. But there are dozens of clues in the skilled writing and direction that point to irony, rather than romance, as the powerful engine that pulls this movie. Indeed, the movie takes vicious swipes at romantic comedy staples throughout: the magical love story of the girl's parents, on which she was bottle-fed, turns out not to be quite what it seems; most other characters repeatedly fail in their love lives, or succeed only to suffer great loss as a result; and great-hearted social gestures are doomed to failure. Sometimes the irony is apparent in other ways, such as in the flower petals that fall too relentlessly and too often either to be ignored or to be accepted at face value.

The message of this film, ultimately, is quietly stark: everything is doomed to fade away, and we shall fade away, too, no matter whom we love or how deeply. Whether we will get scorched by that love before we shuffle off is an open question. This is not your standard romantic comedy message. Nor is this really a feel-good movie. But it is very funny in places, cleverly constructed, well acted, and comes with an important message about love and loss. It deserves a second chance.

I thought this was a tightly-written, well-directed, superbly-acted film. It moved me to tears. Rang true & clear. Happy ending & all, it depicted the angst & turmoil of the shallow relationships this culture encourages.... the characters did the work & found their true mates as a result. Too slow for American hyper/commercial attention spans, for sure. More like a European film in that regard. Brave & moving. Glad I saw it.

I was channel surfing when I happened to catch this movie and, after it was over, it really got me to think about life - and how small things can change the way it turns out to be, and how inter-connected we all are. It was quite funny to watch Nick and Gwen always managing to miss each other.

I think the acting could have been a bit better though - especially Jennifer Aniston not having a role at all was quite disappointing. However, this was the first movie in which I really loved Sarah Jessica Parker. She managed to do a whole range of emotions with seeming ease.

I can't understand why it didn't do well at the box office. I hadn't seen it before, but have been recommending it to friends ever since.

On the whole a really good movie.

I recently saw this movie, starring Jeanne Tripplehorn and Dylan McDermott, for the second time on cable and I think it's a lot more interesting and original than critics gave it credit for. It does have a meandering nonlinear plot, and the lovers destined to be together don't meet until the end; these facts bother some who are used to a formula plot. It has been compared (unfavorably of course) with Sleepless In Seattle, but aside from the couple not meeting until the end, the two films are not at all similar; Sleepless (which I also liked) is much more conventional; every single scene is directly related to the inevitable conclusion.Til There Was You is actually more like You've Got Mail, where the predestined couple are foes before they meet. Til There Was You, however, is much more original and authentic.You do have to have patience with it; while it's part comedy, it's also a bit like real life; much of what happens is peripheral to the central plot. I liked this; you may not.It has several quirky characters, the most entertaining played by Sarah Jessica Parker.I am sorry that more people didn't like this; the harsh criticism will only encourage future screenwriters to go strictly by the book.

The premise was there to make a really good romantic comedy, but somewhere it all went totally wrong. First, there were no sparks between the two leads. There they were near the end pretending to be in love at first sight, and it was just not believable at all. McDermott's character was really annoying, obnoxious, unsympathetic etc... until about 3/4 the way through the film, then he started to be sweet - but he was nowhere near convincing enough. Aniston had VERY little to do, and her character was really only half developed, while Parker's character was a complete joke - how self obsessed can a person be? The pointers on relationships in general fell short, and really the only people to liven up the film were the bit part actors, who outshone the central actors in every scene. Quite frankly this film was a total waste of energy and time. It had the foundation to be O.K but could not properly utilize the resources to pull it off.