SHE CAME TO ME

She Came to Me fails to utilize the talents of its cast, squandering it with a scattered story that goes off in all different directions, removing any traces of romance or intentional comedy from this romantic comedy.

There are bad movies you wish will end, and then there are bad movies that become entertaining in their own disastrous way. Even though I think that Anne Hathaway and Marisa Tomei are two incredible actresses, not even my love for them was enough to salvage the scattered and frankly outrageous story that is She Came to Me. And despite it falling into the so bad it's funny category, resulting in some of the best unintentional laughs of the year including a wild storyline for Hathaway’s character, it has been a while since a film with such big stars has backfired so spectacularly for me.

Steven is an opera composer, working on his next composition despite extreme writer’s block. After being pushed by his wife, Steven leaves his home on a walk through New York City. Along the way, he meets Katrina, leading to an adventurous one-night stand that changes not only his life, but the life of his entire family in unexpected ways.

If you are looking for a movie that has tug boats, opera, and romance addiction, look no further than She Came to Me. If you are questioning how these three ideas fit together, you are not alone, as I am still doing that after watching the film. Writer director Rebecca Miller tries to tell a story about the complications of romance and the unexpected effects of it with dry humour, and while I respect her attempt to tell a fresh story in the romantic comedy genre while catering to the overly romantic and hilarious moments that mass audiences expect from the genre, it did not work for me at all. There are multiple storylines happening at once, with new ones popping up constantly throughout the film. It’s a lot, throwing curveball after curveball at the audience, and none of the storylines thematically complement each other as the film tries to tackle so many social issues at the cost of the story and romance. The screenplay weaves the plot points  together to carry the story from start to finish, but odds are in your favour that you will be sitting there, scratching your head questioning what you just watched. It becomes an unintentionally funny experience, only upping the ante with each scene, resulting in one of the most outrageously messy films I have ever watched.

With a cast led by two Oscar winners and a four time Emmy winner, you expect the acting to be very good. Sadly, that is not the case with this film. Peter Dinklage is very one note throughout the film, playing the grumpy composer with a true lack of presence or passion for the role. Hathaway and Tomie both give mixed performances, with moments where there is some truly bad acting from them, but then also moments of pure tenderness that this film required to allow the story to connect with the audience.

Not even the musical score or opera compositions worked for me, despite normally being a sucker for musical moments in a film. Yes, I caught on right away on the Sweeney Todd reference in the film long before the screenplay had to explain it, and even recruiting “The Boss” himself Bruce Springsteen for the closing credits original song “Addicted to Romance” which bluntly uses plot points from the story adds nothing to the film.

You can have all the talent in front of the camera, but without a good script or story to tell, the talent is wasted. Sadly, that is the case with She Came to Me. With a story that is goes in all different directions to its detriment, and with lackluster performances from Peter Dinklage, Marisa Tomei and Anne Hathaway, there is very little to enjoy about She Came to Me other than the absurd twists and turns the story takes that delivers the comedy the film promised in the most unintentional ways.