The Dilemma Movie Review ..

Since college, confirmed bachelor Ronny (Vince Vaughn) and happily married Nick (Kevin James) have been through thick and thin. Now partners in an auto design firm, the two pals are vying to land a dream project that would launch their company. With Ronny’s girlfriend, Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and Nick’s wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder), by their sides, they’re unbeatable. But Ronny’s world is turned upside down when he inadvertently sees Geneva out with another man and makes it his mission to get answers. As the amateur investigation dissolves his world into comic mayhem, he learns that Nick has a few secrets of his own. Now, with the clock ticking and pressure mounting on the biggest presentation of their careers, Ronny must decide how and when he will reveal the truth to his best friend.

I’ve gotten to the point where I just have to see the name “Kevin James” and my whole body goes into convulsions. Over the past five or so years, I think there may have been one decent movie that he stared in and the rest have been utter trash. So when I see the poster for The Dilemma, I can’t help but to write the entire movie off. Then I realize that it is directed by Ron Howard plus it co-stars Vince Vaughn, so I now have before me a paradox: I loathe Kevin James but I love Vince Vaughn and mostly enjoy Ron Howard. So the question I utter from my mouth at that moment is . . . “How bad can this movie be?”.

The answer to my utter dismay is that the Dilemma is a terrible mess of a film, which is quite strange that a director of such a high caliber as Ron Howard would let a film get so far out of control. But the mess that is The Dilemma is nothing compared to the complete lack of plot running through this film. The plot is basically two guys are best friends for life, one guy sees his friend’s wife kissing another man, and then the one guy has to figure out if he should tell the other guy. So in real life, this type of plot would be over in say, one five minute phone call, but as we all know, in Hollywood such situations take about 110 minutes to get out of control, dive headfirst into ridiculousness, and then gets solved as easily as it should have been in the first few minutes of the movie. After watching the film, I’m still trying to figure out if there actually was a script or simply made up on the fly.

In defense of the actors of The Dilemma, the performances throughout the film were actually a lot better than what I was expecting. Being that it is a “bromance”, there is great charisma between Vince Vaughn and Kevin James that may be the only saving grace of the film. Where it is James who I suppose plays the lead, it is Vince Vaughn that binds their performance together. It’s just too bad that Vaughn is forced to pretty much play the same character over and over again, but you really have to give Vaughn points for effort through. Even after playing the same role so many times, he could probably just phone it in, but he seems to work hard both at crafting funny dialogue and playing off his co-stars. Without the 110% that Vaughn puts into this film, I can’t see this film worth being made.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but the major issue with The Dilemma is actually director Ron Howard. It has been over eleven years since he has made his last non-drama film, How the Grinch stole Christmas (2000), and with his return to comedy, he can’t seem to figure out if what he is directing is a comedy or a drama. It’s just strange that there would be such great comedic charisma between the film’s lead actors, but then the rest of the film is allowed to become such a mess that it is completely indecipherable.

It seemed at times that this should have just been made into a drama because it would have made more sense and would have been less of a waste of talent in the form of Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder. But if it was a drama, then the writers would have had to actually write a script, and I suppose that just wasn’t something anyone wanted for this film. I sure hope this year has more in store for us then what The Dilemma has to offer because it is simply a waste of time. Avoid this movie, and your life will be that much better.

The Dilemma Movie Trailer

The Italian physicist, Leonardo Vetra, is murdered and the Harvard symbologist ,Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), is invited to help solve the case. Together with Vetra’s daughter (Ayelet Zurer) he finds out about a secret society, the Illuminati, and a quest for the world’s most potent — and deadly — energy source.

I had the pleasure of seeing Ewan McGregor in the movie, doing a very good job with his role, the action was fast paced and the plot required all the attention. There were times I could predict the next step, but overall the movie proved to be an entertaining one and nothing prepared me for the real end.

The special effects were more than decent (they were able to recreate St Peter’s and the Sistine Chapel in their studio), it felt engaging and thrilling. Some might say the action was a bit too “fast”, I think it’s a good idea to watch it for 2-3 times to get it all, but I have nothing against seeing it again to really understand everything, since the entire experience has been an enjoyable one.

The movie has received mixed reviews, but most critics and movie goers agreed on one thing: with its imperfections it’s a movie worth watching. You don’t have to believe anything from it, you don’t even need to try understand all the details, but you’ll surely enjoy a nice story and some good actors doing their job.