What do you get when you mix 1960s corny comedies with a 2003 sly sensibility? The result is the sexy and satirical Down With Love, a retro romantic romp with smarts.
Renee Zellweger stars as Barbara Novak, an independent, outspoken author with a feminist edge. After writing an infamous first novel (also entitled Down With Love), Novak is determined her book will stir up the battle between the sexes. Providing women of America with the three secrets to total independence, Novak has the world at her fingertips, if only, of course, she can get the world to notice that she exists.
Enter Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor), a successful journalist and equally successful bachelor who holds the key to Novak’s exposure. A self-proclaimed playboy, Block wants nothing to do with Novak, mistakenly under the assumption she is a shrivelled up spinster with a well-developed grudge against the male species. What he doesn’t know, of course, is that Novak is no spinster and instead he has met his perfect intellectual match.
The most appealing aspect of Down With Love is its refreshing approach at making everything old new again. McGregor is a great choice to play the sort of role that Rock Hudson perfected so many years ago. Zellweger is an equally intriguing choice in line with Doris Day as the innocent blonde bombshell with a deceiving appearance. The duo of McGregor and Zellweger works especially well together, both hot on the heels of other nostalgic successes Moulin Rouge and Chicago, respectively.
In fact, much of Down With Love’s public relations packaging works, from its costuming to its dialogue delivery. Even the casting of Tony Randall in a small supporting role conjures up a small stroke of genius.
The best thing about Down With Love, however, is that it manages to pay homage to a genre while making fun of it at the same time. Chock full of sexual innuendo a la Austin Powers, it’s pulled off here with a surprising amount of sophistication. As a result, Down With Love is tongue in cheek without being trite, cute and clumsy without being stupid.
While Down With Love is not the first movie to go back to the ‘60s with such zest (think Tom Hanks’s underrated gem That Thing You Do), it is the first film in a long time that pulls off nostalgia with a certain degree of charm. Sure the plot is simple and ridiculous, but it works so hard at being so silly that silly seems smart, making Down With Love simply lovely.
