Careful What You Wish For

This is a sexy story with adultery, quite a bit of skin and murder...and it stars Nick Jonas! Yes, THAT Nick Jonas...of the squeaky clean Disney-fied Jonas Brothers! Talk about a major about face with his career! Only a few years ago, he and his brothers were singing to sold out stadiums of pre-teen and teen girls...now Nick is playing in a hard edged rated R film! My how times have changed, but the real question that needs answering is it any good? Well, it's not at all bad but the film isn't without a few problems here and there. The biggest one was casting. No, Jonas was actually pretty good. While he's in his early 20s, he looks younger, so playing a character who is supposed to be 16-17 years- old worked. The problem instead was his co-star, Isabel Lucas. While her acting was quite good, the role should have been played by someone who seemed much older--perhaps a cougar in her 30s. However, Lucas looks to be about Jonas' age and this makes the story a bit more difficult to believe.

It all begins at a lake in North Carolina. Having lived very, very close to where they actually filmed the movie, it appears to be around Lake Norman--a large lake north of Charlotte, North Carolina that is known for it's expensive lakefront homes. The Martin's are a nice and seemingly normal family and their son, Doug (Jonas) is anticipating going off to an excellent college soon. But in the meantime, it's summer and he and his super-annoying friend (too annoying) are mostly concerned with scoring with the local girls. However, Doug is in for a huge surprise. His new rich neighbor has a very young and very desirable wife, Lena (Lucas). Why she would soon seduced Doug is a puzzler--and Doug is just young and stupid enough not to ask this as well. Soon, he and Lena are having an affair. Not too long after this he's pulled into a conspiracy...one that might just get them sent to prison! What is the conspiracy? Well, think The Postman Always Rings Twice and you'll have some idea what's next. Fortunately, the film does have a few nice twists and turns, though none of it seemed all that surprising to me, as a gorgeous and rich woman like this MUST have some other hidden agenda...and my guess is that this is going to run through your mind as well as you watch. However, despite the plot being occasionally a bit easy to predict at times and the ending a bit too perfect, the acting and direction are very good and the film held my interest throughout.

So is it worth seeing? Yes, though it isn't a film I'd rush to see- -though some of his old fans (provided they are now old enough to see a rated R movie) might enjoy seeing this harder edged Nick Jonas. Just be forewarned that you won't see THAT much of Nick in the film...if you catch my drift.

This Jonas brother's future looks pretty good after seeing this movie. Is he handsome leading man material? Perhaps, perhaps not...but he can act and was able to more than hold his own in the lead. His biggest problem for the future is his strength in this particular film--he just looks very, very young and I had some trouble seeing him in more adult roles. Time will tell.

'Careful What You Wish For' was never going to be an Oscar worthy, genre defining, boundary leaping film however for what it is trying to be, which is an easy going, enjoyable and suspenseful piece of drama, it does very well. The storyline and plot my perhaps leave something to be desired but having said that this viewer was taken for the ride with all the twists and turns that were thrown at the audience. For the most part the acting was strong, especially considering the calibre of the actors and the relatively little previous work they have done in the industry. My main criticism would be that there were moments where the focus seemed to be more on moving the plot forward without first establishing the necessary character development to make us fully care what happens to the characters.

Overall an enjoyable flick so long as you go into it expecting the next big thing, and don't try and analyse every detail but just sit back, relax and don't take it too seriously.

Careful What You Wish For is a good case study in the failings inherent in the Hollywood star system. The film is essentially star vehicle that is produced well but which fails to deliver anything substantial due to the lackluster performances of its leading actors around whom the film has been structured.

Nick Jonas plays Doug Martin, an adolescent without personality who falls for the gorgeous Lena Harper (Isabel Lucas), a married woman with a dark and devious plan to make big bucks fast. As a leading lady, Lucas does nothing more than showing us her very skinny body as she seduces her way into Jonas' very silly heart.

The film, directed by Elizabeth Allen Rosen, is not essentially a bad product. Rosen's direction is competent, the cinematography is pretty, editing is tight, the script holds up alright, and the production itself is of a good quality. There is a solid story arch that held my interest till the end. And it is a nice star vehicle for Lucas and Jonas. But the supposed stars have a very limited acting ability, even at the hands of a director who has a good grasp of her craft born from a long and stable career in television.

Unfortunately, all the potential of this film is lost through a leading couple who never quite arrive as the stars in the vehicle. Unless you are interested in learning from the mistakes made by Lucas and Jonas, you can safely give it a miss.

Direction: 6||Acting: 2||Cinematography: 7||Concept and delivery: 4|

This thriller stars Isabel Lucas, Nick Jonas, Dermot Mulroney, Paul Sorvino and Kandyse McClure. In short, this is another "someone's a murderer" movie + a Jonas brother.

I'm not a Jonas brother fan, but Nick did surprise me, he wasn't great but he wasn't as awful as I expected him to be. That being said, it's a good thing that Dermot Mulroney wasn't present in most of the movie because the six time award- winning actor might have out shined his co-star Nick

Isabel Lucas, although stunning, looks a little strange and unnatural with Nick. Regardless of this, she does have the voice, emotionless expression and body language of a classic James Bond girl in the beginning. This works for her as it suits the character she portrays but also might make it look like she cannot act. It would be interesting to see her in something else.

I should also mention that the plot is unfortunately un-original and somewhat predictable through half the movie. The acting of certain co-stars such as Kandyse McClure also leaves much to be desired. Maybe that's why this site and other sites, don't even mention her. That said if you're a Jonas fan you'll like this.

All together it's not all that bad of a flick, predictable yes, but still fun to watch to see where its all headed. I thought the talent could have been given a much better script to work with. As most mentioned previously the premise is old and tired,,,,,,some new twists could have been added to make it more interesting! Most probably watched for the eye candy, but again a flick that can be enjoyable if you don't get too serious about it and just kick back and watch.