Hallo, unfortunately this kind of DVD does not work within European countries, therefore I am going to return it back to Amazon. But the movie itself is great, funny and Meryl Streep is incredibly great!
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Funny and enjoyable all the way through
Added 2/3/2010
The Bottom Line:
Yes some parts of Prime follow an "idiot plot" and skew towards soap opera-style hijinks, but for every moment like that there are three or four emotionally true ones and five or six funny ones; with lines of dialogue worthy of being quoted ad nauseum, sweet performances by all three of the leads, and a honest look at a relationship, Prime is quite an enjoyable film to watch.
3/4
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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"It's only going to end badly."
Added 3/30/2009
I've been meaning to watch this romantic comedy for years, and now that I've finally seen it, I'm just sorry that it took me so long to get around to it. It is a well-written, well-performed, sweet and realistic depiction of love between an older woman and a younger man, and a therapist with strong ties to them both.
In the one featurette included with the extras, writer/director Ben Younger mentions his inspirations: "Annie Hall", "When Harry Met Sally . . .", "Manhattan" -- and sure enough, the movie really is a throwback to those great romantic comedies. As he says very clearly, it's not "broad" -- it's not some Kate Hudson vehicle designed by a studio to hit a major demographic. It's a very New York story, and he uses the city wonderfully to help him tell his story. Nothing feels like a set. And nothing feels forced. The movie made me laugh harder than anything I have seen in a while, yet there are really no "jokes" in it (apart from the dorky ones the male lead tells). Instead, he uses his characters to create humor with the awkward situations they find themselves in, and he allows his talented team of actors to create it with their performances.
What this film is, is very grown-up. One of the most mature and thoughtful romantic comedies I've seen in years. There's no "meet cute", no complicated premise, no real "hook". It really takes skill to create a movie of this genre where you actually wind up making an emotional investment in the characters, and that is a testament to the script even more so than the players. That the script came from the same guy who brought us "Boiler Room" in 2000 is slightly surprising, but that movie definitely had its moments too. Clearly Ben Younger is getting better and better over time. And given the apparent 5-year pattern, maybe next year we'll get another one that's even better than this!
Aside from the aforementioned feauturette, extras include deleted scenes (one of which reveals exactly what it is that Uma's character does for a living), outtakes and a commentary by Ben Younger. They even have closed-caption, which is great. I know the ending will throw people for a loop, especially if when they hear "romantic comedy" they expect "27 Dresses" style garbage, where you can predict the ending from the moment you start watching the opening credits. I encourage you to enter into the viewing of this movie without thinking of it as a "rom-com" -- just think of it as a film about characters and life and the nature of real love, and then perhaps you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
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The most goyish jewish mother in the world.
Added 3/16/2009
However did they convince us Streep was the best actress of her time? The female De Niro! Here she tops even her Lindy Chamberlain Australian travesty. Australians still laugh at her accent in that "performance". Here she channels Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie to play a wooden Jewish psychologist. Her "Jewish" mannerisms do not ring true at all. All stereotypes and woodenness. Merryl honey, find me a New York Jewish psychologist as inarticulate and mumbling as the one you portrayed. Yeah right! The plot is weak and strained as it tries to parlay a single idea into a whole movie. Uma Thurman is the best thing in this movie and that's pretty faint praise my friends.
Avoid this film like the plague. It has the feeling of made for TV at best.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Missed the boat
Added 12/6/2008
I don't wish to be insulting, but I did not like this movie for several reasons. I should disclose that I turned it off a little over an hour in. I had no problems with the story, but nothing thus far had lead me to believe that the writer/director had the skills to save the movie. Please be assured, the one-star ranking is not an insult to anyone who liked the movie, made the movie, etc. Just a measure of how good I thought the movie was.
1) There was no chemistry whatsoever between the two romantic leads. At the end of their first date, Uma Thurman's character leans over and says "I had a really nice time," and I had to blink twice. Really? Did I miss that? I only heard you giggle awkwardly at an unfunny joke your date made that didn't even come off as cute, and then the date was over.
2) The dialog is entirely unexpressive. There's something to be said for giving the actors room to play ball, but too much and it becomes a meandering excursion in futility. At least it wasn't corny, with the exception of Bryan Greenberg's jokes. And many of the characters' reactions made no sense. Greenberg shows up unnanounced at Thurman's work, barges into a private area, acts like a jerk to someone who actually belongs there, and when she's upset with him he tells her that he's had a bad day and she instantly forgives him. I didn't buy it.
3) The biggest failing, I felt, was the lack of music. It can be nice to have silence or a minimalist score (thinking Match Point or Monster's Ball) but big gaps of silence for no reason just make the stilted, ineffective dialog even more awkward than it already was. I actually watched the beginning over, to look for some effect that the depleted score brought to the table. I came up empty.
4) The Jewish thing, while not offensive, is not very well explained. There's a good deal of Jewish stereotyping, most particularly that Meryl Streep's character wish her son to marry a Jewish girl. I dated a Jewish girl once and her family loved me, but I'm told this happens frequently, so it would likely be readily understandable to anyone Jewish watching this movie. To anyone else, her character could come across as bigoted without an explanation of why she feels the way she does. A single line of dialog, given early on, could've done this.
5) The sex scenes were awkward to watch. Moreover, afterward you have to hear Uma Thurman rave about them. You really get a feeling that the script is trying to talk you into seeing things that you didn't see.
That's enough for now. I hope this was helpful.
2 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Hallo, unfortunately this kind of DVD does not work within European countries, therefore I am going to return it back to Amazon. But the movie itself is great, funny and Meryl Streep is incredibly great!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Funny and enjoyable all the way through
Added 2/3/2010
The Bottom Line:
Yes some parts of Prime follow an "idiot plot" and skew towards soap opera-style hijinks, but for every moment like that there are three or four emotionally true ones and five or six funny ones; with lines of dialogue worthy of being quoted ad nauseum, sweet performances by all three of the leads, and a honest look at a relationship, Prime is quite an enjoyable film to watch.
3/4
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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"It's only going to end badly."
Added 3/30/2009
I've been meaning to watch this romantic comedy for years, and now that I've finally seen it, I'm just sorry that it took me so long to get around to it. It is a well-written, well-performed, sweet and realistic depiction of love between an older woman and a younger man, and a therapist with strong ties to them both.
In the one featurette included with the extras, writer/director Ben Younger mentions his inspirations: "Annie Hall", "When Harry Met Sally . . .", "Manhattan" -- and sure enough, the movie really is a throwback to those great romantic comedies. As he says very clearly, it's not "broad" -- it's not some Kate Hudson vehicle designed by a studio to hit a major demographic. It's a very New York story, and he uses the city wonderfully to help him tell his story. Nothing feels like a set. And nothing feels forced. The movie made me laugh harder than anything I have seen in a while, yet there are really no "jokes" in it (apart from the dorky ones the male lead tells). Instead, he uses his characters to create humor with the awkward situations they find themselves in, and he allows his talented team of actors to create it with their performances.
What this film is, is very grown-up. One of the most mature and thoughtful romantic comedies I've seen in years. There's no "meet cute", no complicated premise, no real "hook". It really takes skill to create a movie of this genre where you actually wind up making an emotional investment in the characters, and that is a testament to the script even more so than the players. That the script came from the same guy who brought us "Boiler Room" in 2000 is slightly surprising, but that movie definitely had its moments too. Clearly Ben Younger is getting better and better over time. And given the apparent 5-year pattern, maybe next year we'll get another one that's even better than this!
Aside from the aforementioned feauturette, extras include deleted scenes (one of which reveals exactly what it is that Uma's character does for a living), outtakes and a commentary by Ben Younger. They even have closed-caption, which is great. I know the ending will throw people for a loop, especially if when they hear "romantic comedy" they expect "27 Dresses" style garbage, where you can predict the ending from the moment you start watching the opening credits. I encourage you to enter into the viewing of this movie without thinking of it as a "rom-com" -- just think of it as a film about characters and life and the nature of real love, and then perhaps you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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