It's always nice when you can be surprised by a motion picture. When you watch a film and it turns out to be much different, or even better, than you expected. That's the case with the new Vince Vaughn and Kevin James comedy, "The Dilemma," directed by Oscar winner Ron Howard. I was really surprised and impressed at how much I enjoyed this movie and how different it was from what I expected. At first, I didn't know that Ron Howard was the director. I just thought it was going to be another Vince Vaughn romantic-comedy, like "Couples Retreat," and that instead of Jon Favreau, they substituted Kevin James. I couldn't have been more wrong. The Dilemma is funny, but it is also smart, mature and it had a deep emotional core. I have to imagine that Ron Howard had a large influence over the tone of the film and the result is an "American Pie" for adults.
Vaughn is at his best and carries the film in many ways. His character could have easily become goofy and ridiculous, due to the situations he finds himself in, but instead Vaughn makes him believable and relatable to the audience. James also gives one of his better performances and I was really impressed by how much emotion he showed in the film. While James has lots of opportunities to be funny, he also shows a great range of dramatic emotion in the movie. In many ways he is actually the straight man to Vaughn's character and does a great job in the role.
Also surprisingly good in the film is Winona Ryder, who has made quite a comeback lately between this film and her role in "Black Swan." She handles the comedy very well in the movie and shows a lot of spunk in a few key scenes. Her character is slightly unlikable, but the actress really pulls off vulnerability well and that helps her in the role. She feels genuine and like a real person, rather than just a character. In contrast, I thought Oscar winner Jennifer Connolly did fine in her role but felt a bit cold and removed from the material. Unlike Ryder, who was actually believable as Kevin James's wife, it didn't really seem like Vaughn's character would be in a relationship with someone like Connolly. But at the same time that kind of worked for the movie too.
The film begins by introducing us to Ronny (Vaughn) and Nick (James), who've been best friends since college and now own an auto design firm together in Chicago. They're working on an electric engine for muscle cars that has the same roar as a motor engine. They're in the process of making a big pitch to Chrysler. Nick is married to Geneva (Ryder), who also went to college with the two friends. While Ronny has been dating his girlfriend, Beth (Connolly), for several years and after some troubled times, are back to normal and are very happy. Nick and Geneva convince Ronny that it is time for him to pop the question to Beth, but he decides to wait until after the big presentation.
One day, while Ronny is looking for the perfect place to propose, he runs into Geneva.... with another man! Now the dilemma begins and Ronny must decide if he is going to tell Nick now or wait until after the presentation. This puts in motion a series of events that begin to make Ronny's friends and family become concerned for him. Ronny decides to confront Geneva about what he saw and give her a chance to tell Nick herself. When she refuses to end the relationship or tell Nick, Ronny decides to tell Nick himself. But Geneva threatens to reveal a secret that she knows about Ronny if he says anything to Nick. Now Ronny must decide whether to tell Nick the truth and jeopardize their friendship and careers, or come clean and let the chips fall where they may.
Another surprisingly good performance in this movie came from actor Channing Tatum ... yes, that Channing Tatum! The star of "Dear John" was actually very funny and well cast in his role. He plays Zip, the 20-something, hipster/dirt-bag boyfriend of Geneva. He plays the part like a mindless surfer-dude with emotional problems and is quite hilarious in a scene opposite Vaughn. Queen Latifah also has some great comedic scenes with Vaughn. She plays his supervisor at Chrysler, a woman who likes to use expressive, sexual language in the work place.
The film is not without its faults, such as dragging a bit towards the beginning of the third act, which I think can be blamed on the script. But Vaughn and James' likable characters, along with Howard's incredible ability to tell a story, help move the film along at a decent pace. The script by Allan Loeb ("The Switch") was much better than I expected, but at the same time it felt like a lot of the best moments in the film came from Howard's direction or the actor's improvising and not necessarily the screenplay. I almost wonder if the script wasn't written more like a goofy comedy, with lots of ridiculous situations, and Howard and the cast changed it to be more realistic. Whatever the case, it worked and proved to make a better movie all around.
The movie is gorgeously shot and Chicago makes for a beautiful backdrop. This is Howard's first comedy since "Ed TV" and the first time he's shot in Chicago since "Backdraft." You can feel Howard's touch all over the film and that is why I think it is better than expected. One scene in particular that I liked was the opening scene. During the opening credits, we see some lovely crane shots throughout the city of Chicago, while we are listening to a dinner conversation. Eventually we are in the restaurant and see the four main characters having a discussion about relationships over glasses of wine. The discussion is friendly, believable and could strike a chord with anyone. It could be a discussion two couples are having right now somewhere about life and the role of relationships. The scene is fun and wonderfully explains who all these characters are in the opening moments of the film. Howard shoots this scene beautifully, with the camera rotating around the table during the discussion.
Special credit should also go to editors Dan Hanley and Mike Hill, who have cut every movie Howard has made since "Night Shift" and won Oscars for their work on "Apollo 13." Their work helped keep the film moving at a good pace and gave an extra push in some of the longer sequences. But the real hero of the film is Ron Howard, who proves once again that he can make a good film in really any genre. Howard takes what would have been a throwaway buddy-comedy and transformed it into a mature, emotional and funny date movie for adults. In the end, The Dilemma is definitely worth seeing in the theaters and is a funny adult comedy with a lot of heart. If you are looking for a decent film to see this weekend with your significant other, than I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this movie.