Not a movie for those who like crime movies with fast chase scenes, shoot outs with blood splatter, and sex scenes with lots of skin. This one is for those who are ready for a slower real life pace where characters are searching for justice and redemption. To see seasoned, skilled actors like Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, and Ashton Kutcher in these character roles made it worth the watch. This film has a really poor description, BUT it is a very good film. He wasn't working for the wedding planner. He was just being with her and helping her, and she helped him. As one who lost someone close, almost 7 years ago, I didn't realize that a part of me was waiting for them to come back. This film touches on a part of simple humanity that doesn't understand when someone dies. We live in this world that is so real. It stays real when real people leave. It's hard to balance the new reality with the past. We get so used to their presence, we grow accustomed to it. When they leave, we don't KNOW where they go. We are still here. Just not here, and there is nothing we can do until it is our time to leave. So many emotions connected to their leaving and our still being here. This film is a beautiful statement about loving and losing and having to find ourselves in present life again. So glad I happened to watch it. The relationship with an older woman echoes Kutcher's real life experience, but I regard it as an irrelevant coincidence. The University of Iowa connection is relevant, if only because Kutcher arranged screenings to benefit flood victims in Iowa City and his home town of Cedar Rapids. This is a small and intimate film, Sundance sort of stuff. Rather than dominating fellow inventors and employees, Kutcher's character finds personal redemption in the last shot which is a loving smile on Pfeiffer's face. On principal, I don't give 5 stars, but this movie was quite a positive surprise. But it was not. It was a carefully developed, low-key and sensitive story. The acting was very good. Michelle Pfeiffer turned in a strong performance, and Ashton Kutcher proved that he really can act. Though there's a pervasive sadness to this movie, I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good acting and storytelling experience. After a slow beginning, the film delivers. The actors are everyday people, not Hollywood made-up folks, who live in ordinary houses with working class décor. What stands out is the raw reality of grief and how it's dealt with by several characters. Michelle Pfeiffer, as usual, gives an excellent turn as a single mother of a learning disabled son, whose husband was murdered. The film presents thought-provoking themes of grief, love, and redemption. I was surprised how absolutely GREAT this movie is - had never even heard of it. But I found the story to be not only engaging, but utterly believable. Two deeply wounded souls find each other and in their own awkward way, carve out a new reality for themselves. This movie is about embracing the gifts life brings us all, no matter how improbable the wrapping or inopportune the timing. Kutcher stole the show portraying a young man who initially only finds solace in weight lifting then slowly comes to realize that the best way to work through his grief and anger is to help others. He brought humanity to the movie. I rented this but I think I am going to buy it for my library. It is THAT good! I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. The characters were well developed and the performances were well above my expectations. Michelle Pfeiffer played her role with a gentleness and vulnerability that I have rarely seen from her and Ashton Kutcher was perfect in his portrayal of a young man trying to deal with loss... The film tells the story of two families attempting to come to terms with the deaths of significant family members - a father and a sister. And it portrays the various ways we have as humans of trying to cope with the loss that results from death. The relationships that arise from the attempts to deal with the losses are what makes this story so very precious. I am always surprised at what grows out of grief based on personal experience despite the tears and heartache. The emptiness left by our loved ones departure is an emptiness that awaits the arrival of something or someone new... Great movie, great perfomances, well written script and a tough subject served well by a finely crafted piece of cinematic art.
