Reviews & Ratings for
The Dilemma More at IMDbPro »

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108 out of 150 people found the following review useful:
A waste of $70,000,000, 28 January 2011

Author: Filmy2020 from Canada

This movie is a shameful waste of $70,000,000. It's also an unusual waste of a talent like Jennifer Connely.

I can't even begin to tell you where this movie goes wrong, because it never seemed to go right. For the first 30 minutes of the movie, there is nothing remotely funny, original or entertaining. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, telling myself "ok, Ron Howard is just setting up the premise. It will get better." But it doesn't. Not a bit.

I had to repeatedly resist the urge to take out my phone and play Skee Ball. I should have, however, given in to the temptation to leave the theatre and demand my money back.

PS to the studio - don't market a film as a comedy if its not remotely funny. It does nothing to enhance your already tarnished reputation. (Clearly you are still pumping out left over crap from 2010)

58 out of 91 people found the following review useful:
Great Moments Lost in Great Opportunity, 15 January 2011

Author: David Ferguson (fergusontx@gmail.com) from Dallas, Texas

Greetings again from the darkness. On average, I see two new releases per week. Selections are based on subject matter, cast, director, and most often, the trailer. My most recent two viewings were BLUE VALENTINE and SOMEWHERE, both somber to say the least. So a light-hearted buddy flick with Vince Vaughn and Kevin James, and directed by Ron Howard, seemed like just the right change of pace.

Unfortunately, the actual film has little resemblance to the film advertised in the trailer. Sure the comedy scenes are present: Vince gives an acidic toast, Kevin James does his fat-man dance, and Channing Tatum plays an off-center tattooed boy toy with a loaded gun and dead fish. Where the fraud comes in is with the rest of the film. This is a pretty dark, weighty relationship movie that poses quite the moral dilemma (hence the title) for Vince. Should he tell his best friend and business partner that his wife is cheating on him? Rather than a few rounds of funny scenes with Vaughn trying to get it right, we get "deep" emotional wrangling of a poor guy who just doesn't know the best solution. Along the way he hurts many people he likes, and a few he doesn't. Please don't take this wrong, I am fully onboard with dramas being mixed with comedy. In fact, Ron Howard has provided us with one of the best examples of this ... PARENTHOOD. However, this is nowhere near that level, and in fact, misses the mark in both comedy and drama.

I spent much of the movie trying to decide who was most frightening, Winona Ryder or Karen Carpenter. What?? Oh wait, I meant Winona Ryder or Jennifer Connelly. Too soon? Come on, she died in 1983. The point is Ms. Ryder carries forth with her BLACK SWAN look and Ms. Connelly evidently hasn't had solid food for a dozen years. Queen Latifah does her best to bring some energy to the film, but her character only has about 3-4 scenes. It's always nice to see how Ron Howard works in his brother Clint and his father Rance ... thereby keeping their actor's guild cards current.

There really was a good idea here, but the comedy and drama just weren't meshed well. And Kevin James as a genius engineer? Seems a stretch from Mall Cop! Ron Howard has some classic movies to his name. Some funny ones like NIGHT SHIFT, and some dramatic ones like A BEAUTIFUL MIND and APOLLO 13. Unfortunately, this one falls flat and really provides little entertainment.

39 out of 57 people found the following review useful:
bleh, 15 January 2011

Author: bethie0365 from United States

OK..OK..it wasn't 'awful', but it wasn't OH MY GAWD this is great either. The Dilemma is presented as a conflict that Vince Vaughn has when he sees his best friend and business partner's wife having an affair. Coulda , shoulda, woulda been a different movie had the following happened: 1. Winonna Ryder...isn't in the movie 2. Kevin James ..had more comedy rather than 'engineering' skills 3. Winonna and Kevin were 2 different actors that were the married couple in this flick AND, 4. they stuck to the storyline and stopped adding countless subplots that have no impact on the movie or the comedy or the acting.

This movie had a lot of potential, it just didn't produce it.

Vince and Jennifer were acceptable as an unwed committed couple but there wasn't enough balance between comedy and drama. I went into this expecting comedy and got more drama. It just wasn't Vince's best work, nor was it Ron's.

Even the 'other man' (who's name escapes me) was just too far fetched to wrap my mind around in character. He was over he top. If he was like the guy from the Richard Gere, Dianne Lane movie, then it'd be more believable.

I'm just not sure what I watched tonight. Vince had his typically banter and rhetoric in some scenes, but the movie was just too heavy and too over the top with story lines for me to count...or to recommend.

I also didn't like Queen L in this...she overacted her scenes and her character just didn't seem to fit in enough to make it worth her paycheck. This is the same actress that got the Oscar nod for Chicago...completely overacting in this movie.

I'd definitely wait for the DVD..as a rental. You will only want to see it once..

54 out of 88 people found the following review useful:
A Comedy with a Story to Tell, 15 January 2011

Author: Arad Mojtahedi from Montreal, Canada

I came to this movie with the lowest expectations. Never been a fan of Vince Vaughn and I knew the reviews were not kind to this film. However, this is a film that while you won't be laughing your ass off during the whole movie, it provides a few good laughters and it also has a decent story to tell. The story is simple yet it keeps you questioning yourself... what would YOU do if you caught your best friends wife cheating? Let me say, it does get childish at times and yes it might drag on a bit but it's not horrible by any means.

It's a kind of romantic comedy that can be enjoyed equally by men and women and let's just say the Bromance that is at the core of it is quite engaging. I'd say don't listen to the reviews. True, this may not be a fresh comedy nor a classic but it is well acted and it tries to avoid being cheesy, even though it may very well be at some points.

18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Yada Yada Yada, 27 January 2011

Author: rawvibes from United States

Ronny and Nick have been best friends since college. The two are partners in their own auto design firm; their big dream comes true when they land a big deal with Chrysler. Nick has found a way to make an electric car sound and feel like a muscle car. Ronny's life has now turned for the worst when he catches Nick's wife cheating with another man. So does he tell his best friend about the other man, or should he wait until the Chrysler presentation is over. Vince Vaughn's character over shot itself. It was just too much Vince. Jennifer Connelly gorgeous as usual. You caught your best friend's wife cheating, but to stretch this topic for a movie for a 1 hr. 58 min was just way to long. Not enough funny parts to compensate for the boring slow pace of the film. Constant yada yada's. Not one of Ron Howard's best films. Soft 3 stars out of 5

32 out of 49 people found the following review useful:
Be warned:, 17 January 2011

Author: totonka from Germany

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I had the bad fortune of seeing this picture at a sneak preview in Frankfurt and, after suffering during the whole time I watched it, I think that I've earned the right to write a review and warn you all: be careful, do not be fooled by the names in the cast or even by the fact that this film is directed by Ron Howard (who has made a couple of good films).

I will tell you whats wrong with the movie:

1. The characters do stupid decisions which make you feel detached with the story, almost all the time. 2. This would not have been a problem, if the movie was a light comedy, which is what you may think before you see the film, but for some reason, the filmmakers did not seem to decide if they wanted to make a comedy or a bad drama. Most comedy parts are fine, but the dramatic parts really make the whole comedy feel go to waste. 3. The dramaturgy is bad: The story is full of clichés to the point, that in the end it had 4 happy endings, just to make sure any idiot would get that it ended well. 4. The -really cheap- product placement... I counted at least 4. For the price you pay to see a film, and counting the fact that you normally have to sit through at least 15 minutes of advertising before the film starts, this is a bit insulting.

I gave it 2 stars, because there was a good fight scene and maybe one or two funny things.

If you think that you are not a dumb a person, then you do not have to see this film. It will make you mad.

19 out of 24 people found the following review useful:
Yet again a comedy which isn't a comedy, 27 January 2011

Author: Neil Welch from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Ronny (Vince Vaughan) unwittingly witnesses Geneva (Winona Ryder), the wife of his best friend and business partner Nick (Kevin James) having a clandestine romantic encounter with Zip (Channing Tatum). The eponymous dilemma is what should he do? Should he do nothing, speak to Geneva, or Zip,, or tell his friend Nick? This dilemma is compounded by various factors - they are under time pressure at work (not that he seems to do any - Nick does it all), he had a one night stand with Geneva before she and Nick got together, he is under pressure to propose to girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly), and everyone is concerned that his odd behaviour means that he has reverted to his gambling habit of a couple of years ago.

I was puzzled. Director Ron Howard has made some pretty heavyweight movies over the years, but they haven't included comedies since his early days. You'd think that, with all those years in Happy Days, he'd have a good grasp of comedy. Yet this movie has virtually no laughs at all despite the fact that the trailer strongly sells it as a comedy. It is not a comedy, and every time it tries to be, it falls flat on its face (Vaughan's speech at the anniversary dinner, clearly intended to generate the comedy of embarrassment, merely embarrasses). As a comedy, the film is a total failure. And Vaughan's performance is one-note, depressingly identical to the performances he has given in his last half dozen films - he badly needs to start showing some range).

But there are some good things in it, and chief among these are the real - and touching - relationships between Vaughan and friend James and, particularly, girlfriend Connelly.

25 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
Unfairly Bashed, 22 February 2011

Author: trayoder from United States

I went into this movie with an open mind. I didn't think it would be the greatest movie ever made, but at the same time I knew it was directed by Ron Howard, who has made some outstanding movies. The movie is not as funny as I thought it would be, but in the end that was o.k. to me. Most people probably went to see it with the mindset that it was going to be a mindless laugh-fest because of the previews and the stars Vince Vaughn and Kevin James. This is not the case. In my opinion Vince Vaughn has one of his better performances in this film. Kevin James did the most he could with his character, but in the end fell flat. I think that if you watch this movie without any expectations you'll end up enjoying it. Final verdict - not great, but not a waste of time either.

19 out of 32 people found the following review useful:
Tests patience with boring story lines, but Vaughn and James can save it, 28 January 2011

Author: napierslogs from Ontario, Canada

I like titles where one word can refer to multiple things occurring in the movie. "The Dilemma" can mean, will Ronny (Vince Vaughn) propose to girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly)? or when Ronny catches Geneva (Winona Ryder) cheating on best friend Nick (Kevin James), should he tell him? Will Ronny and Nick be able to land and keep the lucrative Chrysler deal to save their company? Unfortunately, none of these story lines are particularly interesting or very funny.

Vince Vaughn is his usual self, and Kevin James can be both funny and the nerdy engineer. But the problems occur at the very beginning, first when we realize that one of the best actresses in the cast, Ms. Connelly, is only there to smile and look pretty, and then we start concentrating on Winona Ryder who appears as though she's acting in "Girl, Interrupted" instead; her character is just way too deranged looking to be enjoyable. For what should be a simple buddy comedy, they added way too many sub-plots and although there were a few laughs, it was mostly boring and not all that funny.

By the end, the film settled down a bit more, and we got to concentrate on Ronny and Nick. Vaughn and James are the only two actors in the film who actually belong in such a film, and I enjoyed their camaraderie. They were good characters, funny guys, and decent people. "The Dilemma" isn't horribly written, had a few jokes, and I was smiling at the end, but it tested my patience just a bit too much.

12 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
Not Much Of A Dilemma As The Right Option Is Obvious, 11 May 2011
Author: Chrysanthepop from Fraggle Rock

How could one go wrong with a cast like Jennifer Connelly, Vince Vaughn, Winona Ryder, Kevin James and Queen Latifah? While 'The Dilemma' isn't among the worst movies, it's still a big disappointment. The premise doesn't promise a classic but it sounded funny and since Vaughn and James were involved, I expected to laugh and with Ryder and especially Connelly, I expected some substance. 'The Dilemma' is a complete failure where substance is concerned. It did make me laugh on a few (very few occasions). Plot holes are very apparent and I also thought it was ridiculous how the story was making Ryder's Geneva to look like the villain when her husband is equally to be blamed for the same. In addition, the story deviates in the last half hour only to head further downhill. Vince Vaughn's Ronny is more vulnerable than the characters he usually plays and he does a good job. Kevin James's Nick suffers from poor writing. It's good to see Winona Ryder back in a meaty role (even though it was a small part). Luminous beauty and immensely talented Jennifer Connelly is criminally wasted. Ditto for the voluptuous Queen Latifah.

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