FlashCallahan
Centered around a salsa club, three men pursue three women across London. Fergus is trying to find his ex-girlfriend.Charmer Frankie, is trying his hardest to pull the beautiful Eleanor.Robber Eddie is trying to find, and also pull, one of his victims, cemetery worker Jocelyn...In the late nineties and early noughties, there were a slew of these British romantic comedies, that were trying to be a sort of antidote to the sickly sweet behemoths that were Richard Curtis movies.We Had This Years Love, If Only, House, Virtual Sexuality, and this. And while some of them were funny and quite the alternative (think Lock Tock for the ladies) they disappeared without a trace, because they were too familiar and felt a little bit too depressing at times.This film, whilst it has a few genius moments, features too many people with miserable faces to be anything like a cheerful movie. We have Adrian Lester as a sort of guardian, watching their lives as they sit in the back of his cab, being drunk and depressed.And apart from McCormack, none of the characters are very likable. They are either thieves, drunkards, loose women, or stuck up.So at the end, you really couldn't care less, because they don't really deserve to be happy.But there are funny moments, and despite the unlikable characters, the performances are brilliant.Just do it less gloomy next time....
missrljane
An ensemble rom-com that requires a love of salsa. If this love is lacking in the audience, they will often be bored. The opening is set in the salsa club that connects the characters, is long and dull and drenched in a cheap-looking murky red, which isn't going to snag the interest of a passing viewer. This is reprised throughout the film along with drawn out shots of London roads, adding to the lethargic and depressing tone.However, Born Romantic does have an interesting set up, once it gets around to it, and each of the three male leads have intriguing back stories. Fergus has come to London to find the love he jilted eight years ago. Frankie lives in a sinking house with his ex-wife. Eddie is a petty thief looking after his senile father. Unfortunately their female equivalents are less developed. Mo is a slag (broken heart), Eleanor a snob (high standards) and Jocelyn a kook (fear of death). It feels very much that each couple ends up together only because there isn't space in the film for them to think about meeting anyone else and the ending is unsatisfactory because from all signs the relationships between Fergus and Mo, and Frankie and Eleanor are doomed, with them only getting together because they are tired of fighting. The sweeter relationship between Eddie and Jocelyn may last, but these two characters have the least depth in reality so it is hard to consider them real people at all.Fergus, Frankie and Eddie pursue their ladies, their stories connected by a salsa club and a widower taxi driver, but while individual scenes can be enlightening and well crafted, they are never enough. The whole film suffers from its disjointed nature and it ultimately has too many characters and plots to give any the depth they deserve. While this is the risk of all ensemble films, Born Romantic doesn't have anything else to it to fall back on.
jesscat88
*Spoilers may be contained in this comment*Okay, I admit it, I only watched this film because it was the only thing in the TV pages of a certain magazine that was a film, and not on SKY telly. That's the only reason I bothered staying up until 11:30pm to watch it. I have to admit, the knowledge that Jane Horrocks and Jimmi Mistry were in it made me think that it should be good, seeing as both these actors have been in some of the funniest things I've seen, but in truth, the whole film was just a stream of drivel.It could have been good, if they had focussed on just one couple, instead of on all three, also, it just wasn't funny. The funniest bits were the fleabag Eddie (Jimi Mistry) trying to rob his girlfriend, (by accident) a clued up cab driver, and an innocent bystander, and the bit where an ashtray falls off a table. That's how dull this movie is. Oh, and when Fergus still has his socks on in bed, that made me giggle a bit. Only watch this if you suffer from insomnia.
lingmeister
The movie, Born Romantic, is about how three separate men, whom, under different circumstances, wanders into a Salsa club. They somehow meets and eventually gets the woman of their dreams. The men and woman they are courting all revolve around this cab driver, who picks them up on a regular basis. He listens in on their rants, griefs and sorrows, and when required, nudges the relationship forward. The cabbie himself has insights to the importance of love, but we eventually learn that he himself is troubled, not being able to move on from his own lost love. As to the three men, they evolve throughout the film, changing from going after the women to making the women want to be with them.This whole film centers around the Salsa club, with a lot of seductive dancing, which is sort of what is used to form the closure for the movie.All in all, a delightful film.
AD
