http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176740/
Sam mendes is a constant surprise. Who would have guessed he would go from Jarhead, to revolutionary road, to this. I'm going to be honest, I thought this would suck. A friend of mine told me the plot, which he summarized as The guy who plays Jim in the US Office, and the girl who played the hooker in Idiocracy play two parents who go searching for a place to live after they find out they having a baby. That sounds awful, but turns out I was wrong. John Krasinski is great in this, I never liked him before, especially in The Office but here he shows off acting like i have never seen him do before. His interactions with Maya make them seem like a real couple, and some of them actually made me laugh out loud. He is constantly upbeat, but knows how to do subtle emotions very well. Maya Rudolph is great too, and she never impressed me before either. I applaud Sam Mendes for his casting of these two. I would never expect them to impress me, but they found a way to. The supporting cast is great too, Jeff Daniels, Paul Schneider, and Jim Gaffigan play really entertaining characters. Maggie Gyllenhaal surprised me in this. I never liked her before and I find her quite odd looking, but here she plays an ultra hippie girl who has very odd rules when it comes to raising her kid. This is not a groundbreaking film, and many will be disappointed by it after Sam Mende's previous films.
He tends to favor very harsh and bleak films, but here he shows a diversity I did not expect. This is a very nice film, it is something you watch when you are with you're girlfriend or under a warm blanket on a couch. It won't change you're view on life, and it won't win any awards probably. When it comes down to it though, this is just a very nice film with great characters, and lots of genuine heart and emotion. I respect Sam Mendes for making this film, he doesn't use visual gimmicks like other indie romantic comedies, he lets the characters express their emotions. He seems to have a knack for getting great performances out of anyone, and here his characters come to life. There is a charming sense of warmth to this film, even though parts are emotional there is always something that warms you. Every rom com cliche could have been applied her and it could have ruined this film. The emotion here never feels fake or forced either despite how predictable it can be. I highly recommend this film because it made me smile like I haven't done in ages. other films make me smile, like A Serious Man but that was more in bleak way. This is just a lovely film about two people trying to find their place in life. It is welcome change to all the downbeat films I have seen recently. It is not like the horrible rom coms like Love Happens though, this one feels like a story about real people not characters.
Overall I give it an 8 out of 10.