DVD
REVIEW: FEAST OF LOVE
01/28/08
With a title like that
you’d better back it up with a quality, hefty meal. In this
case, it was more like combos from McDonald’s. It still
tastes real good, but there’s not much substance. It has a
stellar cast with default performances, nothing spectacular.
The story was choppy and it didn’t develop the 7, count ‘em
7, stories of love as well as it should. The movie needed to
be longer, which is not a great idea, or some of the 7
needed to be cut out completely to bring more focus to the
remaining relationships. I mean 7 different couples to have
formed with completely different circumstances in only an
hour and forty minutes is asking a lot. Sure it’s a feast in
terms of quantity, but when it’s only a lot of burgers and
fries, you remain a bit unsatisfied.
I truly admire Morgan Freeman. He is a classy guy who
delivers another classy performance as Harry Stevenson, a
college professor taking a leave of absence who becomes the
town’s oracle in matters of the human heart. During the
opening narration of this movie, Harry makes reference to
how mythology holds that the Gods invented humans, but they
were bored so they invented love. As this relieved the
boredom, they decided to try it for themselves. They then
invented laughter so they could stand it. Love is not an
easy thing and it can be extremely painful and this film
demonstrates that. This story takes place in Oregon and
revolves mostly around Bradley Thomas (Greg Kinnear) and his
coffee shop, Jitters Café. Priscilla got a kick out of the
name of the shop. She is the greatest fan of coffee I know.
Have you ever noticed how so many times the people that have
so much love to give are usually the ones that are so
unlucky in love. It really sucks! Such is the case with
Bradley. This movie touches on so many variations of love.
Along with the unlucky in love, it also touches on one-sided
love, homosexual love, cheating love, love at first sight,
young love, enduring love, unexpected love, and even family
love. Movies can and have been made for each of these alone
and yet this one brings them all together for the feast. But
again, we’re not talking about filet mignon and lobster.
It is important for the success of a dramatic or romantic
movie that the audience connects with its characters. The
quality of the actors in this picture gave it a fighting
chance even though their performances weren’t the best ever.
Actors like Morgan, Greg, Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell, Billy
Burke, Toby Hemingway, and Alexa Davalos were good enough to
keep you going given the constraints. I was especially
impressed with Alexa. The last time I saw her was in the
Chronicles of Riddick and to see her go from that to this
was a nice surprise. The characters themselves were all so
different, as different as the relationships portrayed in
this film. The actors and characters combined with the
storyline was just enough to keep the viewer involved and
actually bring out some emotion too. A brief tear could be
shed, but there was potential for so much more.
When I first heard of this movie I immediately thought of
Love Actually. In comparison, Love Actually was more
entertaining and romantic to Feast’s drama and realism. The
cinematography in this picture did help at times. The lovely
grounds of the university, the comfortable homes, watching a
meteor shower from the 50 yard line of a football stadium,
and even the coffee shop itself added a nice, cozy feeling.
Director Robert Benton (Kramer vs. Kramer, The Human Stain)
has directed 8 Oscar nominated performances throughout his
career so he knows what he is doing. When it comes to this
project however, it was just too much food for one sitting.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) Enhance for 16x9 TVs
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround - English Dolby Surround Spanish French,
Subtitles - English, Spanish,
French
BONUS FEATURES:
“The Players” featurette:
The cast shares their insights into what it took to
transform themselves into the classic characters of "Feast
of Love" (12:07)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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