Formulaic, trite and completely predictable.
Sylvia is faced with some very real problems: after a public meltdown on a Seattle morning talk show, she has no job, no money, no place to live (other than holing up with her brother). A great set of obstacles to overcome. Instead, the film's answer to this mess is the tired old "love conquers all" formula.
"Getting the girl" (or boy) is one thing; *earning* the girl or boy is another. And no one in this film really works for their happy endings. A few good speeches, a few minor detours, and voilà! It all works out great.
Sylvia has some very good moments, but spends any sympathy she earns by defaulting back to "whiny and spoiled." (Her and her brother's back-story helps give both some gravitas, but even playing "the mom died when they were kids" card felt calculated on the writer/director's part).
Too, as a former Seattleite, I found the depiction of Seattle anorexic and skewed. More like the culture of L.A. had been transplanted into Seattle. Seattle is a BRILLIANT location for any writer/filmmaker who knows how to use it and actually make it its own "character" in a story. As is, Seattle was just a lame gimmick here, with a few picture-postcard moments thrown into a montage midway through.
I've been in Sylvia's shoes (minus the very public meltdown) and found the film condescending. I mean, really? These are the sum total of one's options in life? These people needed to get off their asses and work for that crowd-pleasing end.
Sylvia is faced with some very real problems: after a public meltdown on a Seattle morning talk show, she has no job, no money, no place to live (other than holing up with her brother). A great set of obstacles to overcome. Instead, the film's answer to this mess is the tired old "love conquers all" formula.
"Getting the girl" (or boy) is one thing; *earning* the girl or boy is another. And no one in this film really works for their happy endings. A few good speeches, a few minor detours, and voilà! It all works out great.
Sylvia has some very good moments, but spends any sympathy she earns by defaulting back to "whiny and spoiled." (Her and her brother's back-story helps give both some gravitas, but even playing "the mom died when they were kids" card felt calculated on the writer/director's part).
Too, as a former Seattleite, I found the depiction of Seattle anorexic and skewed. More like the culture of L.A. had been transplanted into Seattle. Seattle is a BRILLIANT location for any writer/filmmaker who knows how to use it and actually make it its own "character" in a story. As is, Seattle was just a lame gimmick here, with a few picture-postcard moments thrown into a montage midway through.
I've been in Sylvia's shoes (minus the very public meltdown) and found the film condescending. I mean, really? These are the sum total of one's options in life? These people needed to get off their asses and work for that crowd-pleasing end.