The Dilemma

          Despite the movie obtaining a 5.2 rating on IMDB and a 23% on Rotten Tomatoes, I will be giving this movie a slightly more positive review.

          The whole movie revolves around the idea of what it means to truly know a person.  Kevin James’ character thinks he knows his wife (Winona Ryder) but she is having an affair with Channing Tatum. Vince Vaughn finds all of this out and tries to tell James but ends up looking like he has relapsed into his gambling addiction. For a romantic comedy, this film has quite the confusing story due to a massive web of lies.

          Jennifer Connelly plays Vince Vaughn’s girlfriend and they make a cute couple.  Part of it is that their comedic banter is amusing and Connelly still looks great.  

          On the other hand, Kevin James and Winona Ryder are a terrible couple, mostly due to Ryder. She tends to play annoying characters and by the end of her movies, I want to turn them off.  Luckily, her true acting colors shine through during her fake crying scene. 

          Channing Tatum plays a tattooed, muscular character that surprisingly has very sensitive feelings which makes for some amusing scenes. 

          To my displeasure, most of the humor in The Dilemma comes from Vince Vaughn.  His comedic acting originates from his quick, sarcastic lines that almost make you watch the movie again. Almost.  That being said, I loved how he gave the Herb Brooks speech from the movie Miracle. Being a major hockey fan, I connected to this speech and found it inspiring.

          Also, I loved the blatant Chicago advertising because I live in the Chicago area. There were tons of skyline shots of the city along with their sports teams.  In the movie, the characters attended 2 Blackhawks games which I was absolutely enthralled by.  GO HAWKS!  Chicago sporting apparel was included everywhere. Vince Vaughn was in a Bears hat, James in a Blackhawks shirt, Connelly in a Cubs shirt, and Vaughn even mentioned the White Sox at one point. Blatant but I loved it.

          Unfortunately, the entire movie was building up to a climax that didn’t provide enough drama.  The intervention scene seemed like a poor way to end the film and resolve all of the conflicts that occurred.  After this, Vaughn proposed to Connelly by giving her a paper bag with a ring in it. This is possibly the most unromantic, uncreative proposal ever. I’m just surprised she said yes.

          Everything I have said makes this movie sound terrible but to be honest, it wasn’t that bad. I watched it with my family and we all seemed to enjoy it. I certainly don’t feel like I wasted 2 hours of my life, so for that, I won’t give it a thumbs down.