So I ask En out for a movie today, hoping to catch Fantastic 4. Then, while walking down from Somerset MRT to Cineleisure, I catch sight of these four huge figures standing “guard” at each corner of the junction where Cairnhill Road filters into Grange Road. The one closest to me is the Thing, and I’m actually reminded of why he’s one of my favourite superheroes. I almost wanted to take a picture using my not so new Sony Ericsson k500i, but I guess I didn’t want to look more geeky than I already did.

So anyway, as I’m walking up and admiring the Thing (I’m sure there was a better way to put it) and getting reminded of the “Giant-Sized Man-Thing” joke… I notice that *horror of horrors* Fantastic 4 opens July 7th. D’oh! Fortunately, I’ve got backup movies in mind that open this week, but I’m not too keen on any of them. I would have thought En wouldn’t mind Initial D, but as I find out later, she caught the anime and wasn’t too impressed. Frankly, I didn’t want to have to put up with any of the Hong Kong Bad Boys (just say this in a Honkie accent… nuts!) so I’m glad we didn’t watch that.

So it was down to Be With You, claiming to be the “No. 1 Love Story in Japan and Hongkong” or the Amanda Peet, Ashton Kutcher vehicle “A Lot Like Love”. She allowed me to pick, so I went with the latter, even though I knew it only received a 5.3 rating on imdb.com. I figured it was mainly because of the male-dominated imdb.com members who couldn’t appreciate a good romantic comedy even if it hit them. Truth be told, I was also piqued by the tagline that went “A Great Romance Can Ruin A Perfectly Good Friendship”. Seemed to be the story of my life. “Great Romance” aside.

That aside, the movie wasn’t one that knocked your socks off, but you couldn’t fault it either. It seemed like it was meant to be filler for those who wanted something other than the barrage of blockbusters characteristic of the summer season. The plot itself seemed rehashed, although the delivery was unique.

Emily Friehl (played by the excellent Amanda Peet) is a rebellious punk girl who can’t seem to handle her emotions. Olivier Martin (Ashton Kutcher) is a dorky bummer who thinks he’s got his life all planned out. Together, the two forge an unlikely seven-year friendship that sees them through each other’s breakups, spells of loneliness and times of need. The pace of the movie was slow, but I assume that was done intentionally. After all, if a 107 minute movie was to demonstrate change over a 7 year period, then one wouldn’t expect the scenes to zoom by. However, pacing is one of the most important aspects of a film, and this one didn’t live up to it.

The casting seemed absolutely inspired, though. Amanda Peet just stole the show with her performance. I literally witnessed her age seven years during the movie. It was easier to believe that she was a different person, a different personality with each time frame. The SUPERDUPERMEGAdork named Ashton Kutcher looked absolutely incompetent next to her. En was very vocal about how he personified “dorky” by the way he carried himself. One thing I couldn’t fault though, was the excellent chemistry between the two. I could imagine Matt Damon for example pulling off the character of Oliver Martin better, but I can’t imagine him with Amanda Peet. So casting, inspired. Ashton, dorky.

The movie didn’t even open up as large a can of worms as I’d hoped, so I was glad En and I found something else to talk about during lunch. But that’s another story.