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There was a time when a Ron Howard film meant something; a mark of quality, a stroke of genius. The man has an incredible amount of talent and an incredible amount of films under his belt, but – in the last ten years or so – his star has dimmed a bit and his directorial works are grossly uneven in quality: some achieve near brilliance (Frost/Nixon), others, well, not so much (Angels & Demons). The Dilemma, his first intentional comedy since 2000’s unforgivably grating How The Grinch Stole Christmas, continues in that recent line of disappointing releases.
Combining marital affairs with need-to-do business tactics is somewhat of a tricky thing – especially in a comedy. The two ideas aren’t easy dramatics, yet that’s the territory of Allan Loeb’s script (who previously penned the massive snoozefest that was Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps). Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Brannen (Kevin James) are best buds and business partners. Currently, their partnership rests on the shoulders of a business deal that needs to go down, yet Ronny discovers something about Nick’s wife, Geneva (Winona Ryder). She’s having an affair with a crazy man named Zip (Channing Tatum). At the same time, Ronny is trying to figure out how to propose to his girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly). The dilemma is pretty obvious. Does Ronny tell Nick or not? And at what risk to his business? Hid friendship?
The balancing act of serious themes with comedic moments doesn’t always work. Not everyone can pull an Apatow. Unfortunately, only the women involved with this production understand how to work that balancing act. They, Ryder and Connelly, are fantastic in this feature. Their turns on-screen are fun and dramatic and extremely satisfying – unlike their male counterparts. Even Queen Latifah – I was surprised, too - puts forth a good comedic effort.
The men, who really need to deliver for this film to float, simply don’t provide the buoyancy. While James can pull some faint goofiness from time-to-time with pratfalls, he can’t always land the gravitas needed for the semi-serious role he finds himself in. Vaughn is, well, Vaughn (still mooching off his Swingers role) and if you are a fan of his brand of talking-and-talking-and-talking comedy then you will be pleased with his banal performance in the film. If not a fan, then I would strongly suggest you skip this one because his mouth is all over the film and it’s mostly been-there and done-that material. He’s just not as fresh as he once was.
Loeb has simply filled his screenplay with too much insincere connective tissue to make sense in the real world it desperately wants to represent. Everything and every one is related in some way which just rings false from the start. Ronny has a past relationship with Geneva and Geneva’s affair threatens his business and so on. The multiple scenarios of The Dilemma are so loaded that when it putters out and misfires, it practically catches the entire picture on fire.
And where is Howard? None of the director’s typical flares ignite on-screen here. It’s as if he wants to disappear behind the camera with this…which, in my experience with Howard, is somewhat unusual for the visual filmmaker. His stuff is easily recognizable because he is quite good at visually telling a story with a camera lens. Is he just buying his time until he starts The Dark Tower? Is he hoping this simple comedy will be a moneymaker? Something that will help him realize The Dark Tower as he imagines it?
Wherefore art thou, Howard?
Truly, that’s the real dilemma of this film.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving sexual content.
