WAITING FOR FOREVER
(PG-13)
MOVIE: * (out of 5)
BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5)
BY KEVIN CARR
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Will (Tom Sturridge) is a street performer who has had a crush on Emma (Rachel Bilson) since grade school, ever since she comforted him after his parents died. When Emma returns home from school after a bad break-up, Will follows her into town to reconnect. However, soon she wonders if he is crossing lines with his affection and might become dangerous.
WHAT I LIKED
Well, Rachel Bilson is pretty, even if she needs to eat a few more carbs.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Unlike many critics out there, I’m not wowed by the quirky, independent romantic comedy. I hated “(500) Days of Summer,” and I thought “Sideways” was extremely overrated. Personally, I prefer the more traditional rom com, starring someone like Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon. These overly-angsty, art-school-fueled whiners aren’t for me.
My biggest problem with “Waiting for Forever” was that it’s not a love story. It’s a stalker story. More than a decade ago with the release of “There’s Something About Mary,” the entertainment press loudly wondered if stalker stories were the new rom com. Apparently it is. The character of Will isn’t in love with Emma. He’s in love with the idea of Emma, and his affection borderlines on psychosis.
To the filmmakers’ credit, this is addressed in the film, but it’s excused and forgiven with one of the worst deflection plot devices I’ve seen. On top of this, from my perspective, Emma isn’t that great of a person. Sure, she’s cute, but there’s no depth to her character beyond the girl who is just struggling with some relationship guilt… and even then, this makes her character even less desirable.
Finally, there’s tom Sturridge’s performance. Kudos to the guy for thinking he was going to bring anything new to the screen, but his quirky persona went out of style with (and was better achieved by) Johnny Depp in “Benny and Joon.” I’m sure an artistic, free-spirited street performer with a derby hat and pajama pants is adorable for college girls, but he’s a loser. I know I sound like a fuddy duddy in this respect, but I calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
No features are included on the Blu-ray.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Guys stalking their childhood crushes and girls who don’t know any better.