DRINKING BUDDIES

Got in touch with a dear friend of mine today after she took some (well deserved) time to focus on herself.  Decided to watch DRINKING BUDDIES in honor of our whiskey drinking nights in the office.

DRINKING BUDDIES: Four out of five stars.

What impressed me the most about this film was its refusal to follow the usual rom-com formula.  I looked up the scores on Rotten Tomatoes afterward and while the critics loved it, audiences didn't.  I expect it is because the film doesn't end neatly as you'd expect.  Instead its a very honest look at relationships and friendships between four actors I always love seeing on television.  The chemistry between Jake Johnston and Olivia Wilde is more than enough to carry the film - but the addition of Anna Kendrick and Ron Livingston really make the film something special.

The dialogue was entirely improvised, which I only discovered AFTER I watched the film, and I remember remarking to myself, "Self, this dialogue sounds so real."

Confession: most of my friends are women - so the friendship between Johnston's Luke and Olivia's Kate often hit very close to home.  I'm glad the film ended the way it did - and couldn't think of a better way to cap on a surprisingly enjoyable movie-watching experience.

Film List:
January 1: THERE WILL BE BLOOD (5/5)
January 2: BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (3.5/5)
January 3: THE ARTIST (5/5)
January 4: THE KING'S SPEECH (2.5/5)
January 5: UPSTREAM COLOR (5/5)
January 6: THOR: THE DARK WORLD (cancelled)
January 7: THE PIANIST (4.5/5)
January 8: DRINKING BUDDIES: (4/5)