Down with Love (2003)

Director:

Peyton Reed

Writers (WGA):

Eve Ahlert (written by) &
Dennis Drake (written by)

Release Date:

16 May 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

The ultimate catch has met his match.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Author | Chocolate | 1960s | Farce | New York City

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Down with Love - Zum Teufel mit der Liebe! (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual humor and dialogue.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Iceland:L | Malaysia:18SX | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Denmark:A | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39331)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Fox 2000 Pictures

Trivia:

Average Shot Length = ~5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~4.5 seconds.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the opening sequence establishing the 1962 New York setting, the modern Canadian flag is among those flying outside the United Nations. In fact it did not replace the Canadian red ensign until 1965.

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.

Movie Connections:

References Vertigo (1958)

Soundtrack:

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

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.