DeniReview: The Back-Up Plan
April 21st 2010 07:27
Rating: **1/2 Stars out of 5
"The Back-Up Plan" is Jennifer Lopez's first starring role in four years and to be honest, she probably should have waited a bit longer for something better.
I'm sure those die-hard and dreamy fans of romantic comedies will overlook the major flaws in this tale of Zoe (Lopez), a single woman with no hope of ever finding Mr. Right and living happily ever with 2.5 children, decides to take matters into her own hands and have a child on her own only to meet Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), the man of her dreams on the day she's inseminated. Score one for the frozen sperm!
Truthfully, I could not wait for this movie to end. I saw zero chemistry between Lopez and O'Loughlin. I kept checking the clock anticipating the closing credits, dreading the final hurdle - the cheesy ending monologue where they declare they can't live without each other and everything is wrapped up in a nice sappy package - just saying!
We are supposed to believe that Zoe and Stan are meant to be together even though their first meeting wasn't "love at first sight and shooting stars". They met bickering over a taxi and after a few coincidental path-crossings, they come to realize it's true-love. Things get pretty shaky when Zoe fesses up about her pregnancy but Stan is so sure that she's the one for him that he decides to give it a go. Sure, the story adds a bit of "trust issues" and "uncertain future" hang-ups but the moment they decide to make it work, the story has no where to go.
I didn't find their relationship believable because it all happened so fast, which I understand had to be that way in order to satisfy the premise but by the end of the movie, it felt as if they were still strangers who only just met, deciding whether or not they liked each other. There was no development at all to their relationship. It's like the writer had the beginning and the ending all mapped out and just randomly threw in "stuff" as filler for the middle bits.
Alex O'Loughlin is another charming Australian import but even his good looks and well toned pecks couldn't distract me from the fact that I just wasted 104 minutes of my life - well maybe he distracted me a little bit. He just didn't seem to find his footing in this movie. It's hard for me to see Jennifer Lopez in any film because she is an actress with baggage - I know too much about her personal life and it gets in the way of me seeing her as an actress - but she gave it her best and at times I did see Zoe.
On a more positive note, there were at least four laugh-out-loud moments, thanks to the playground dad, the single mothers counselor, a woman giving birth, and a octogenarian wedding singer. Other than that it's painful to sit through.
I will only recommend this movie to those die hard romance fanatics who don't care and who simply want a dose of love-story about soul-mates with nice well developed pecks or perky bottoms - depending on who you are! Go for it!
"The Back-Up Plan" is Jennifer Lopez's first starring role in four years and to be honest, she probably should have waited a bit longer for something better.
I'm sure those die-hard and dreamy fans of romantic comedies will overlook the major flaws in this tale of Zoe (Lopez), a single woman with no hope of ever finding Mr. Right and living happily ever with 2.5 children, decides to take matters into her own hands and have a child on her own only to meet Stan (Alex O'Loughlin), the man of her dreams on the day she's inseminated. Score one for the frozen sperm!
Truthfully, I could not wait for this movie to end. I saw zero chemistry between Lopez and O'Loughlin. I kept checking the clock anticipating the closing credits, dreading the final hurdle - the cheesy ending monologue where they declare they can't live without each other and everything is wrapped up in a nice sappy package - just saying!
We are supposed to believe that Zoe and Stan are meant to be together even though their first meeting wasn't "love at first sight and shooting stars". They met bickering over a taxi and after a few coincidental path-crossings, they come to realize it's true-love. Things get pretty shaky when Zoe fesses up about her pregnancy but Stan is so sure that she's the one for him that he decides to give it a go. Sure, the story adds a bit of "trust issues" and "uncertain future" hang-ups but the moment they decide to make it work, the story has no where to go.
I didn't find their relationship believable because it all happened so fast, which I understand had to be that way in order to satisfy the premise but by the end of the movie, it felt as if they were still strangers who only just met, deciding whether or not they liked each other. There was no development at all to their relationship. It's like the writer had the beginning and the ending all mapped out and just randomly threw in "stuff" as filler for the middle bits.
Alex O'Loughlin is another charming Australian import but even his good looks and well toned pecks couldn't distract me from the fact that I just wasted 104 minutes of my life - well maybe he distracted me a little bit. He just didn't seem to find his footing in this movie. It's hard for me to see Jennifer Lopez in any film because she is an actress with baggage - I know too much about her personal life and it gets in the way of me seeing her as an actress - but she gave it her best and at times I did see Zoe.
On a more positive note, there were at least four laugh-out-loud moments, thanks to the playground dad, the single mothers counselor, a woman giving birth, and a octogenarian wedding singer. Other than that it's painful to sit through.
I will only recommend this movie to those die hard romance fanatics who don't care and who simply want a dose of love-story about soul-mates with nice well developed pecks or perky bottoms - depending on who you are! Go for it!
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