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Published January 19, 2011 at 10:40 a.m.
Every now and then, someone comes along and makes a comedy based on the radical (in Hollywood) premise that adult straight men have feelings. The best I can say about The Dilemma, the latest entry in this tiny genre, is that it makes Judd Apatow’s uneven Funny People look like a work of comic genius. Allan Loeb’s script fleshes out the characters so lazily that the actors seem like they’re still reading for their roles, not playing them.
As a guy who faces the so-called dilemma of whether to tell best friend Kevin James that his hot wife (Winona Ryder) has been stepping out on him, only Vince Vaughn connects with the audience. But then, Vaughn often appears to be way off book, in another and weirder movie. A scene involving him, Channing Tatum, a baseball bat and a fish tank is so odd it qualifies as genuine dark comedy, unlike the rest of the film. Watch it — someday, on YouTube.
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About The Author
Margot Harrison
Bio:
Margot Harrison is the Associate Editor at Seven Days; she coordinates literary and film coverage. In 2005, she won the John D. Donoghue award for arts criticism from the Vermont Press Association.
Margot Harrison is the Associate Editor at Seven Days; she coordinates literary and film coverage. In 2005, she won the John D. Donoghue award for arts criticism from the Vermont Press Association.
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