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Friday, April 22, 2011
MOVIE REVIEW
Ceremony
Standing On It, Underneath
It, Around It, But Not In It
Uma Thurman as Zoe and Michael Angarano as Sam in Max Winkler's romantic comedy
"Ceremony".
Magnolia Pictures
by
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday,
April 22, 2011
You may be familiar with the term "standing on ceremony": politeness, tradition,
auto-courtesy, ritual, all right on cue. Max Winkler's breezy, quiet
romantic comedy "Ceremony" does much the same. Mr. Winkler, son of famous
father Henry, directs this small, compact film and fills it with awkwardness and
charm, highlighted by the sweet and touching performance of Michael Angarano,
who plays Sam, a struggling author who has just published the book "Chloe The
Mermaid", about the battle a young male hero has to undertake to win the heart
of the elusive Chloe.
That the book's central character Chloe rhymes with Zoe is no accident, as the
latter (played by Uma Thurman) is center stage of "Ceremony". Zoe is ready
to be married to a self-centered mockumentary filmmaker Whit (Lee Pace).
Zoe's had an intimate past with Sam, whom with his friend Marshall (Reece Daniel
Thompson) visits (or gatecrashes) the Hamptons for a weekend in the hopes of Sam
stirring up those old, beautiful touchy-feely feelings with Zoe.
"Ceremony" investigates the delicacies of romance and friendship and does so
without possessing harsh or blunt edges. Sam is clearly attracted to Zoe,
and Zoe is clearly conflicted about Whit. Whit may know more than a whit
about what is going on. Airy and light, "Ceremony" has a few laughs but is
mostly ineffectual at conveying a sense of comedy beyond the film's primary
story about unattainable love.
Is Sam a wrecker if he may try to prevent an uncertain Zoe from going forward
with her nuptials? (She doesn't have her wedding vows prepared.) Is
Zoe truly happy, or at least content? We surmise what the answer is all
over her face -- or at least we think we do. Ms. Thurman is effective in
conveying the turmoil of "I do-I don't". We sense Zoe is as troubled by
her impending marriage as she is by Sam's unwelcome presence at Whit's huge,
lavish estate.
Sam's best friend Marshall is the film's comic release valve, while Whit is its
explosion. Both characters open the door to juvenile frivolity, jocularity and
male bonding. Whit is much like any British or Australian-accented male
character in a romantic comedy: quirky and idiosyncratic. (Recent examples
among many: Stephen Merchant in
"Hall Pass", Eric Bana in
"Funny People".)
This isn't a bad thing -- it's just tired to the point of unfunny.
"Ceremony" disappears into these comic routines, sometimes at great detriment to
some of the minefield-of-love questions that Mr. Winkler's film explores.
What "Ceremony" is better at is its smaller moments, often observed at a
distance by Mr. Winkler's camera: the moments of perception, a look, a glance, a
stare -- moments that are tinged with meaning. Those romantic gestures
alone make this otherwise nondescript movie worthwhile. At times
"Ceremony" appears to be predictable but it's those small gestures that upgrade
its status from ho-hum to decent. Mr. Winkler's film teaches us that
kindnesses and courtesies may just be one of the strongest, most profound loves
of all.
With: Rebecca Mader, Jake Johnson, Brooke Bloom, Harper Dill, Paul Amodeo.
"Ceremony" is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for some
language, sexual references and drug use. The film's running time is one
hour and 29 minutes.
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