I saw this at the Toronto International Film Festival to a packed house!

And what a showing it was!

When I stepped in to watch this, I had no idea where the movie would go, nor if it would be remotely interesting. But it quickly started to make sense. An outdoor wedding by the lake, guys talking guy stuff, and cute girls chatting and flirting from the other table, and soon you know it's going to be about guy/girl relationships. And so the plot evolves.

And while it's not an entirely unique story-line, there are unique things about it. The characters are distinct. The main cast of 4 guys all get enough screen time and have their own 'problems' that can easily interweave that the story could really jump from one character to the next. That's a good thing. A relatively predictable story then becomes slightly less so.

If you're looking for a moderate movie -- nothing too serious, but then nothing too fluffy -- something that you can watch, maybe chuckle a few times, or maybe something that might get you to think more deeply about relationship (and in particular if you're considering getting into a long-term relationship, or if you're not sure a long-term relationship you're in),then this would be just the ticket. You get into the minds of the characters, and there are quite a few that you can get to know, which lets you empathize with them. Some questions that I pondered watching this: is avoidance an option in life? Is truth always the best policy?

Anyways, women will find this to be an enjoyable watch, as there are a few distinct women's points of view that come forth through this which seemed quite honest.

Anyways. Strong acting. A few giddy moments, but fun overall. The result was a story that moved along nicely.

Michael (Zach Braff) is about to turn 30. His girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett) is pregnant. They seem to be perfect and they don't want to get married right now. Her parents Anna (Blythe Danner) and Stephen (Tom Wilkinson) seem to be happy together. The young couple attends a wedding with their friends. Chris (Casey Affleck) and Lisa (Lauren Lee Smith) have a baby and are constantly fighting. Izzy (Michael Weston) is heart-broken over his ex Arianna (Marley Shelton). Kenny (Eric Christian Olsen) hooks up with new girl Danielle (Cindy Sampson). Michael meets Kim (Rachel Bilson) and faces his midlife crisis.

There are too many couples. I don't know if it's Paul Haggis' need for multiple stories. Zach Braff feels subdued by the various relationships of his friends. The best couple is Danner and Wilkinson. It would have been great to concentrate on only those two relationships. There are some solid work. Besides the veterans, Barrett does some of her best work. This is not the quirky relationship comedy in the advertisements and it shouldn't try to be.

If you haven't the original Italian movie this is based on, do yourself a favor and watch it instead of this. If you already have watched the remake, you can still go and revisit the story which is handled way better. Of course you will feel differently about the Remake and like it much more than my rating is suggesting at the moment. But if you take my advise you might see where I'm going with this.

While Zach and others are doing a decent job, you'd expect the movie to capture the essence way better than it actually does. If you have seen Garden State you might even be disappointed by the lack of effort (or at least it feels like a lack). Relationships are hard work, remakes are even harder work ... or not