Quoting from the February 11 edition of the Chicago Tribune, “Hollywood’s 2019 has gotten off to such a bad beginning that the movie’s tagline of ‘Everything is not awesome’ is looking more like accurate industry analysis.” I WONDER WHY? I’m looking at the movie listings searching for something to see and write about. Between AMC Lake in the Hills, Regal Cinema in Crystal Lake and AMC in S. Barrington, there are sixty screens, with a total of twenty-four different films showing between them. (Excluding a handful of ethnic films showing in S. Barrington). At least ten of them have been in the theaters for months, begging the question does anyone show up for these, or are they just filling screens? Discarding the option of any of the months old films, and the usual junk stuff, it left only two or three decent options, at least in my opinion. I opted for Isn’t it Romantic, advertised as a romantic comedy, with a P.G. 13 rating. And why not, it was Valentine’s Day, and my wife agreed to come along, a rarity indeed. And, it was at her urging that I give this one two stars, rather than the one or one and a half that I would have given it on my own.
Isn’t it Romantic
Entertainment Rating: ★★★★ (grudgingly)
Rating: PG-13: scattered profanity throughout
Possible Oscar Nominations: None
This is the story of a young woman looking for romance but not finding it in her real world. Decidedly overweight and surrounded by a bunch of idiots at work, she struggles just to survive the day to day. Voila, she suffers a serious bump to the head and wakes up in a parallel universe. Suddenly love options begin to appear, and while confused about her new habitat, she finally accepts the huge changes and begins to assimilate into her novel surroundings.
The movie is burdened with a mediocre script, but that is made up to some degree by the hard working cast, headed by Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth and Adam Devine. While the story is somewhat predictable, there are several outstanding dance scenes toward the end that were well done. There was a moral to the story, which helped it along, and the closing twenty minutes or so were entertaining. We were surrounded by a group of teen (girls) in the theater, and afterwards I asked them what they thought, and as you can imagine they loved it. I asked my wife, she loved it too. Overruled again!!
Back on the home-front, I watched the 1976 film Midway,with my good friend and neighbor Harold. He served on aircraft carriers post World War 2, and had never seen this one, the true story of the most significant naval battle in modern history, which turned the tide of war against the Japanese. It was our three aircraft carriers against their four. Many of the battle scenes are actual footage, riveting to watch. Those who flew the dive-bombers, tasked with sinking the Japanese aircraft carriers, faced almost certain death as they carried out their mission. Courage beyond belief. This one is four stars all the way, and a heck of a history lesson for those who don’t know.
In closing I feel compelled to comment on one of the best documentary films I have ever seen, Won’t You be my Neighbor, the story of Mr. Rogers. We saw it a couple of Saturdays ago on PBS, maybe some of you did as well. We never left our seats during the two hours it ran, an amazing story about a phenomenal man. I know HBO has shown it. Afterwards I tried finding it on Amazon Prime or Netflix, not there yet. I called our local PBS station, they said they will not be running it again, it sounded like some kind of contractual issue. For a donation to the station they will send you the DVD and seven different Mr. Rogers shows, a perfect gift for the little grandkids. (WTTW: 703 509 1111) Amazon has it for sale for $13.99. If you ever have a chance to see this, do It, you’ll thank me for recommending it.
