Down with Love (2003)

Aaaah... it's New York City in 1962, and love is blooming between a journalist and a feminist advice author, who's falling head over heels despite her beau's playboy lifestyle.

Director:

Peyton Reed

Writers:

Eve Ahlert, Dennis Drake

Stars:

Renée Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, Sarah Paulson

1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Renée Zellweger	...	Barbara Novak
Ewan McGregor	...	Catcher Block
Sarah Paulson	...	Vikki Hiller
David Hyde Pierce	...	Peter MacMannus
Rachel Dratch	...	Gladys
Jack Plotnick	...	Maurice
Tony Randall	...	Theodore Banner
John Aylward	...	E.G.
Warren Munson	...	C.B.
Matt Ross	...	J.B.
Michael Ensign	...	J.R.
Timothy Omundson	...	R.J.
Jeri Ryan	...	Gwendolyn
Ivana Milicevic	...	Yvette
Melissa George	...	Elkie

Storyline

An homage to the early 1960s sex comedies that starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day. The story follows a best-selling female advice author who has all the answers until a sly journalist playboy starts asking the questions.

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Plot Keywords:

love | book | playboy | author | sex | 

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Taglines:

The ultimate catch has met his match.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual humor and dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Official Soundtrack Site

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abajo el amor

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Center Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$67,204 (South Africa) (10 October 2003)

Gross:

£1,958,152 (UK) (24 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, Jinks/Cohen Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Everything the characters wore, literally from head to feet, was custom-made for them.

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Goofs

In an early scene a shot is taken of the UN building showing the flags from different countries. The flag for Canada shows the 11-pointed, red maple leaf. This flag was only adopted in 1964 and made its first appearance on February 15, 1965. Since this movie takes place in 1962 the correct Canadian flag would have been the Red Ensign which had a small version of the British Union Jack in the upper left hand corner and the coat of arms for Canada in the middle right-hand side on a background of red.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: The place: New York City. The time: Now, 1962. And there's no time or place like it. If you've got a dream, this is the place to make that dream come true. That's why the soaring population of hopeful dreamers has just reached eight million people. Oh! Make that eight million and one.

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Crazy Credits

PEYTON REED reads KNOW Magazine and drinks TANG, the drink of astronauts.

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Connections

Spoofs What's My Line? (1950)

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Soundtracks

"Romantic Expectation"
Written and Performed by Jo Mikovich
Courtesy of Sonoton/APM

User Reviews

An underrated gem - glowing pastiche with a post-feminist twist

I'm surprised to read so many user comments which indicate that Down With Love received some critical acclaim - I recall a very different response, where critics seemed hugely and almost unanimously underwhelmed (maybe this was a UK response?) and consequently, I wasn't expecting too much. This only enhanced my enjoyment - what an underrated gem this movie is!!

I rarely like Zellwegger, but here she was pertly perfect, and McGregor was simply fabulous - dashing, charismatic, loathsome, even vulnerable, especially when he occasionally slips from his duplicitous fake self (when he notices a lash on her cheek, for example), and always delivers his lines with exquisite (and surprising) comic timing. The support cast were also excellent, especially Hyde Pierce, although he was not a 100 miles from his decade-long stint as Niles Crane.

The set, costumes, production design and cinematography were also outstanding in this movie, evoking the brashly-coloured, kitsch, fluffy-light ambiance which pervades the early 1960s New York screwball romance movie genre, but the snippy script and slick direction removed this pastiche away from its potential as mere enchanting, screwball fable to a witty, post-feminist send-up of this Hudson/Day romcom genre

• and indeed, the battle of the sexes. To its credit, Down With Love

doesn't collapse completely into mawkish sentimentality with Novak (Zellwegger) suddenly capitulating into the cult of domesticity, tamed by her man, which is often the fate of modern post-feminist heroines - instead, the couple compromise, and we can be sure that she won't be confined to the suburban purgatory she comes to dread.

In all, a fun, fab and brilliantly executed movie, which has been clearly (re)created with due love for the genre it so skillfully parodies, yet in the light of postmodern sensibilities by adding a much-needed post-feminist twist.