Leap Year

Leap Year is a classic romantic comedy of hate. The two leads will naturally begin the film hating each other, find out there is more to the other than meets the eye, end up forced to share a hotel room, and then by the time the heroine gets what she wants she isn't sure its want she wants after all. Neither the destination nor the journey is all that unpredictable, but Amy Adams and Matthew Goode make you feel what they're feeling as the hate ebbs in love. As far as modern romcoms go, you could do a lot worse than Leap Year. Leap Year is far and away above most romantic comedies on the market. Not because the plot is new, or the performances extraordinary but because the film is really art in many ways. The shot composition is thoughtful and creative, and the cinematography is astounding. The film--helped a lot simply by being set in the gorgeous Irish countryside--is beautiful. The problem is that this film will always, for me, suffer from comparisons to It Happened One Night. It Happened One Night is one of the greatest romantic comedies of all time and the plot of Leap Year is essentially the same. It's unfair to expect bickering of Amy Adams and Matthew Goode, as good as their performances are, to be as great as that of Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. It Happened One Night was the first film to win the Oscar grand slam--Best Actor, Actress, Screenplay, Director, and Picture. It's unfair to compare the two but for me the two will always be set beside one another. However, if you haven't seen It Happened One Night do go out and see it, but see Leap Year first.