Down To You.

Preamble - I think when one embarks on a new venture, in this case a new blog, one should start as one means to go on. Tones need to be set, people need to know what is to be expected if the venture was to continue. At the opening for a bakery you would not only serve computer games. So there is no better film to start with than the world renowned film "Down To You".

Blurb - Freddie Prinze, Jr. star of SHE'S ALL THAT and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER teams up with Julia Stiles from TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU in this cool, sexy, box office winning comedy about New York City college life, true love and giving in to temptation.
When their eyes meet across a crowded bar AJ and Imogen suddenly believe in love at first site, but can their love survive an endless round of parties, drugs and tempting strangers! As AJ's friend Monk tells him, girls are like buses....you can never find one when you want one and the three come along all at once.
With support from Shawn Hatosy(THE FACULTY) and Selma Blair (CRUEL INTENTIONS), DOWN TO YOU picks up where SHE'S ALL THAT left off!

Review - From the off there was something that bothered me. I couldn't quite put my finger on what, but something felt a little off about this film. I quickly went for the obvious, the shallower things that were there from the beginning, like Julia Stiles face, I apologise for the misogyny. Julia Stiles is quite the striking looking lady, and 'Striking' is used as degradingly as possible. Her face creeps me out. She has a kind of cringe inspiring, nail down blackboard energy. What ever she does I just feel embarrassed for her. Whether its simple tasks like talking, breathing or the weird way she dances in every film she seemed to be in that was aimed at the Smash Hits generation. Maybe it was because I decided she looked like a catfish. I just don't know. But, it wasn't her bizarre appearance that made me feel edgy throughout.

I turned to the males for blame. How could I not blame Freddie Prinze, Jr. for making me feel edgy? If the males watching the film got a rough(in all senses of the word, though probably not the senses to do with coarse textures, if anything she looks quite soft) deal with Julia Styles, the females were no luckier with Freddie Prinze, Jr.. Freddie is the kind of guy I imagine a lot of girls THINK their parents would like them to bring home, but in reality their parents would never want you to bring back a guy like Freddie because parents actually want their children to be happy. There is nothing going on in Freddie Prinze, Jr.'s mind, if there is I bet it is to do with soft fabrics. He is not so much an actor but more a piece of the set, a piece of the set with a jaw line but a piece of the set all the same.

I gave up trying to work out what was bothering me about this cinematic delight, and then during a insightful part of the film where AJ decided to imagine himself on a cable TV show during Julia Stiles' more frigid sections of the film it hit me. I had it. The thing that had been bothering me about this film, the dark cloud that had been hovering above it was this; this film is tainted by the semblance that the cast were all smug because they thought they were doing something a bit different. They thought this film was not only good, but it was different, and that made it important. This film couldn't be more smug if it was ninety minutes of back patting and handshaking. It's forth wall breaking, without linear narrative, its just off the bloomin' wall and what's worse about it, is that they know it. But they forgot something, the rules they are breaking are the rules of something terrible. They are rules that no one apart from the people who made the film "Down To You" care about. This contented sense of self-satisfaction permeates every bit of space on the screen and almost makes this film unbearable.

After completing watching this film I kind of felt that I knew why there aren't many films made about serial killers made from the points of view of the killer them self, or when they are made they are usually uncomfortable to watch and greeted with such uproar. These films are rarely made because when one is fully immersed in a film for two hours of their life they begin to sympathise. To immerse yourself in their world and understand why they do what they do etc. It feels even uneasy to like these people. In other films it is done with the point to exacerbate their crimes, for example in "Silence Of The Lambs", you get to quite like Lecter, and then when he starts biting at faces you feel disappointed with him and with yourself for liking him. Kind of similar to a friend taking your last beer without permission. And I bring this point up because this is how this film made me feel. Two vile people, AJ and Imogen(Prinze, Jr. and Stiles), committing horrible crime after horrible crime(scenes involving dancing, Freddie being painted, dates involving cake) and culminating one massive crime(Getting back together). By ther end of this film I almost liked them, these terrible things they had done, I didnt care about, I wasnt even bothered by the fact they were awful people anymore, I actually wanted them to be together. That is why if I had to compare this film to anything it would probably be Natural Born Killers.

This film had its positives, I quite fancy Selma Blair so getting to look at her was quite nice, and it was only 87 minutes long which made it a worthy time killer, but it made sure it finished early enough for me not to want to kill myself. As trash goes, it is OK. Not my favourite bit of trash, not my favourite Freddie Prinze, Jr film, not even my favourite Julie Stiles film but watchable all the same.

x!