Dallas Fisher

    Tag: romance

    • Eternity


      Why yes, I would like to put my name in the running to spend eternity with Elizabeth Olsen.

      I don’t love to complain, but I’ll get those out of the way first. This movie feels like an eternity and a half. It’s a little complicated, uncomfortable, and sometimes the humor doesn’t quite land. Miles Teller is playing the perfect role of annoying option guy and it’s really hard to tell if it’s acting or not. There always needs to be that more annoying guy, but at points it was a little frustrating to sit through his screen time. So those things made it hard to fully buy in when I felt the choice was so easy from the jump.

      Now, there are a lot of positives here so lets get into those. Eternity is so creative! I couldn’t believe something like this hadn’t been put to screen before. Even though I wish the worlds would have been explored a touch more, it was exciting getting to see the behind the scenes of this eternal after life. It asks so many questions. How do you compete with a memory? Who is the best for you? Is it okay to be selfish without regrets? These things have been asked countless times in romcoms, but not in a setting like this.

      Now I will say, this movie isn’t the most romantic (probably because I didn’t love either of the male leads), but it has its moments. Elizabeth Olsen in the middle of it all really helps propel the romance forward. Her attendance here is the dreamy glue that holds everything together and she is just so lovely as always. I wish we got more of her and less of the overly comedic and sitcomy style comedy from the rest of the cast. If you didn’t know, this is so much more a comedy than anything else. At times the dark comedy really works, especially since this is technically a dark time in everyone’s life.

      It was cathartic, relieving sweet moments of these character’s lives. I’m sure some people will bawl their eyes out at times here, but for me I couldn’t bury myself in some of these characters or the overall comedy. I will say the colors are the most pleasing thing to the eyes here, well, if you don’t count Olsen.  Eternity proves that comedy and romance can be both enough and not enough.

      I forgot to mention Callum Turner, he’s there too. Hot and there. 

      3.3/5

    • The Map That Leads to You

      A streaming movie, actors and a director I’ve never heard of, plus a genre that typically isn’t my speed. This combination would usually add up to something I wouldn’t be a fan of, but I went in with an open mind and left pleasantly surprised.

      The Map That Leads to You is an adaptation of the book with the same name. Following Heather (Madelyn Cline) on a European vacation with her friends, that eventually turns into a pretty heavy romantic drama. I knew nothing about this story going in, so for it to start off as a vacation movie was actually quite a delight. I just got back from a Eurotrip myself and I don’t want to say it affected my admiration for the setting, but it definitely helped. The views are gorgeous in this movie, and I’m not just talking about the scenery. The first act of this is a lot of fun, watching our characters trek across a gorgeous continent and search for something more than they planned for.

      Now, I have no idea who KJ Apa (playing Jack, the love interest) was going into this, but he was a hunk of an actor so I understand what all the hoopla is about now. His character’s ambition for different was relatable and really spoke to something more than what a typical romcom guy was going for. Jack and Heather’s newly developed relationship felt natural to me but understandably unnatural to the world as a whole. The chemistry wasn’t forced and somehow I wasn’t grossed out by their love-dovey romance. It was taken a lot more seriously than I was expecting, with Madelyn Cline bringing a responsible energy to her role. Cline has the path in front of her to become a star in the Rom-Com world, or even just the Rom.

      This movie is humorous to a fault. I laughed 50% more than I have at most other comedy films this year and even quite liked the range of most involved on screen. While a lot of the actors’ on screen chemistry is what made me laugh, some of the jokes and written situations were a little too strange. Some scenes felt very out of place which I kind of understood when it’s already too short of a short movie. The acting is way above par and I cannot believe how adult this felt, it pushed that PG-13 rating to the limit and surprised me a lot for a rom-com streaming film. It becomes a lot more serious with its drama towards the end, which worked and didn’t work. I know it’s based on a book but there’s some pivotal situations that I wished would have been handled differently to offset the confusing romantic stakes.

      A Gen Z, type A vs type B, romantic dramedy movie that has a lot of heart. The direction of Lasse Hallstrom shouldn’t have shocked me as much as it did, but he made a solid film for the new generations with some young stars.

      6.9/10

    • Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

      Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is very much in a meta universe of its own. In fact, the screening I attended was mainly filled with women from the Jane Austen Society of North America – Minnesota. So, this movie and its audience really knows how to immerse you in the world.

      Inside and out this movie is a romcom that is almost “word” for “word” copies of its source materials. Said source materials are all of Jane Austen novels and if you haven’t read them, or seen the movie adaptations, you might be a little lost throughout. Referencing character names and utilizing those beats to humor that audience could hold a lot of people hostage. If you can get beyond that, you’re in for a decent time.

      This is a very cozy film. Using an old world romance in modern times actually quite works because of the down to earth characters. It may be a fantasy for them, but mainly just feels like the UK to US. Camille Rutherford as Agathe was quite stubborn to watch but she makes sense for the story to unfold in the way that it does. The comedy comes first, sometimes at a fault because of the out of tone feeling it brings and I wasn’t too fond of the “code switching”. If there would have been more situational comedy instead of spit, puke, and tripping humor, I would be saying this is one of the better comedies of the year.

      The contrast of this being rated R to the setting was actually a pleasant surprise. I’m glad it wasn’t shy in many aspects because some romcoms can be way too tame. You can tell The Shining was a reference point (no I won’t expand) and the sticky situations held my attention when the romantic spark began to decline. 

      This won’t be long lasting for most but if you’re in a book club or over the age of 55, this is the perfect 2025 move for you.

      6/10