ARTHUR'S MOVIE RATINGS

I don't presume to tell you whether or not you're going to like a movie or not--people have different tastes and like different things. The main purpose with the ratings given for movies here is to give you an idea of whether or not you should see it in the theater, wait for it to hit DVD, or skip it altogether. So if you want to break it down...

*****: AMAZING! Everyone should see this as soon as they possibly can!
****: GREAT! Worth every cent to go see it in the theater.
***: GOOD! May or may not be worth seeing in the theater, but definitely a solid choice for a rental.
**: DECENT. Not a horrible movie, but it's not a bad choice for a rental.
*: BAD. Do not watch this movie. Well, you could, but I wouldn't advise it.

17 January 2011

The Dilemma

RATING:*** (3 stars)

When Ronny catches the wife of his best friend and business partner cheating, he struggles with finding a way to tell his friend while they struggle to focus on an important business venture.

Almost everything about The Dilemma is pretty straightforward, two couples that are best friends dealing with stress and generally humorous circumstances. Nothing particularly exceptional or unfortunate about this film, but there are a couple things I want to point out.

First, the characters themselves--particularly Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Kevin James)--come off as very real. They seem to have just the perfect ratio of flaws-to-charm that makes them relateable without being tragic characters in and of themselves. Secondly, perhaps the best parts of the movie are the beginning and the end where we are watching these characters try to work out their business deal with Chrysler. Whereas the actual meat of the film dealing with the infidelity seems to drag and is a rollercoaster of laughter and blah, the relatively unimportant scenes dealing with the sidestory of this business deal are incredibly well done and almost makes for a better story.

Trailer