Some Kind of Beautiful (2014) Reviews

• Different, not sweet and easy at all.

  kms-914612015-10-14

  I read reviews and expected disaster. In fact it's quite different from what one may expect. It is not a typical romantic comedy, there is a lot of satire on the American way of living, while the whole film should not be taken too seriously. It is a fun, beautiful places, good acting. Just some life reality, although shown from a little bit funny perspective. Just enjoy it, because you can. I am a real fan of Brosnan and think he delivers as usual. Handsome despite his age, keeps just a proper distance to himself and the guy he plays. All leading actors are just fine and convincing. Watch it and you will enjoy it. May by this is not an extremely ambitious and complicated movie, but don't we need some fun from time to time? In addition, the backdrop landscape is just so nice to watch. So why not give it a go.

• Pleasantly Surprised

  jasonpatel032015-08-14

  Now this movie does have its moments of being relatively cheesy, but it wasn't that bad. I found myself becoming more into the movie as it progressed, never mind the beauty of both female leads. I'm not typically a fan of watching movies more than once, but this one definitely goes on my re-watchable list. A fairly predictable ending but didn't bother my interest in wanting to keep finding out what happens. Give it a chance, you just might be glad you did.

• A screwball rarity

  StevePulaski2016-01-07

  Richard Haig (Pierce Brosnan) is a well-respected English professor in the United Kingdom, with fiery lectures that were directly inspired from his father and a serious, nonconformist attitude to life and literature. Richard is also a womanizer, indulging in relationships with many of his beautiful undergraduate students that admire him for his aged beauty and intellect. He currently finds himself infatuated with Kate (Jessica Alba), a twenty-five-year-old American woman, who he winds up marrying and having a kid with, much to his surprise initially, but to his delight eventually. Despite this relationship, Richard has always found Kate's sister Olivia (Salma Hayek) incredibly gorgeous as well, and finally gets his chance to win her over when Kate asks for a divorce upon meeting someone from her work that loves and cares about her more than he does. Richard already has ninety-nine problems and this isn't one of them. Excusing the fact he had to move across the country in order for his marriage to Kate to work without complication, Richard is also an illegal immigrant and needs to gain citizenship if he hopes to stay in the country. With a divorce in the works and a recent DUI on his record, Richard is anything but a sure bet to gain citizenship to the United States. It's only some sick karmic revenge that during all of this, Richard realizes the torment of womanizing and trying to maintain the upkeep on numerous relationships since he can't commit to one woman. Some Kind of Beautiful is the kind of film I'd ostensibly loathe; admittedly, just the plot made me cringe as I thought of nothing more than an unlikable brute not realizing the ill of his ways. Even as someone who finds commitment and real relationships to be one of the most beautiful things in the world, Some Kind of Beautiful resonated with me as a piece of delightful Kabuki Theater, for lack of a better term, though I'm sure members of Kabuki Theater would look at this film and roll their eyes. This is a zany, screwball comedy at its core, the kind that has gone by the wayside in favor of more romantic, if incredulous, displays of romance and over-the-top comedy, despite lacking half the comedic talent and screen writing craziness. Keep in mind, Some Kind of Beautiful focuses on a contemptible character and his decisions throughout the film raise red-flags on a consistent basis. On top of that, many situations find themselves not only flirting but dancing with improbability. I'm not afraid to admit that. The problem is that Some Kind of Beautiful, with its trailers, its poster/DVD cover, and its overall sunniness paint it as your average romantic-comedy, brimful of hope and optimism. This is anything but a cheery, feel-good romantic-comedy. Think of the Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler-headlined They Came Together from a few years back, which was a self-referential jab at the onslaught of ridiculous romantic-comedies. Some Kind of Beautiful basically takes the disposition and approach to the genre tropes of a romantic-comedy, and proceeds to spit in its face with its cynical grip on the story and the focus on a despicable character. A large part of the film's success is attributable to Brosnan, who does a smooth job at playing both unlikable, but undeniably suave. One could analyze the character he plays in a very psychological manner, even making claims that his lack of respect for women and constant desire for "something newer or better" is a result of his father's four marriages, his drinking, or his possible sex addiction. The problem with that assertion is director Tom Vaughan and screenwriter Matthew Newman don't seem to embellish those instances and simply propose them in passing. The real issue is Brosnan's Richard character, who does many unconscionable things throughout the course of this film. The one thing he seems to consistently do right is treat his son with care and respect, for what that's worth. He never blows him off, never breaks a promise, and always knows how to calm him down in the face of danger or trouble. Furthermore, this film, for as unlikable as its characters can be and for as ugly as its situations can be, has a spirited supporting cast of both Alba and Hayek, particularly Hayek, who help command the screen and work well on their own, even if their chemistry with Brosnan directly doesn't always hold weight. There's never a real spark with either of these women with Brosnan, but perhaps that's only fitting for the premise and idea of this film. When you embark on the life of disconnect and lack of commit that Richard has, a spark is not what you'll get - an endless cycle of heartbreak and disappoint seems to be more fitting. Some Kind of Beautiful also manages to be pretty uproariously funny more often than it isn't, and that's largely because everyone here is great at performing the classic roles screwball comedy requires in order to be success. The performers are capable of physical comedy routines that are frantic and scatterbrained without being too ridiculous, and the situations here, while many are incredulous, have a way of coming off as at least believable for the world of the film. For many films, that's about as much as you can ask, and while this may not be the cleanest and happiest comedy you'll see this year, it is a lot funnier and more positive than its subject matter often allows. Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Jessica Alba, and Salma Hayek. Directed by: Tom Vaughan.

• Average Rom-Com with some decent performances. 5/10

  leonblackwood2015-11-14

  Review: I quite enjoyed this cleverly written Rom-Com, because it had different elements that kept it interesting throughout. It is a bit predictable but the acting was realistic and the adult humour was quite amusing in parts. Its about a highly respected professor, Richard Haig (Pierce Brosnan), who teaches 18th century romantic poetry in a way that the students of today can appreciate. His father Gordon (Macolm McDowell) was also a professor at highly respected Trinity College in Cambridge, so he seeks the same accomplishments that his father achieved before he retired. He's also picked up his father's womanising ways, by falling for one of his students, Kate (Jessica Alba), who shocks him with the news that she is pregnant. She decides to move back to Malibu so she can raise there child, Jake (Duncan Joiner) and her sister Olivia (Salma Hayek) decides to move to New York to pursue her career in writing romantic books. As Richard wants to be close to his son, he also moves to Malibu and he takes a job in a school, teaching students who don't really care for his specialised subject. He then finds out that his wife is having an affair with a younger man, who she has fallen in love with, so he moves into the annex of the house to be close to his son and to keep his green card. After a while, Olivia also moves into the house because she has caught her boyfriend with another woman and while Kate and her new boyfriend Brian (Ben McKenzie) are away, she grows closer to Richard and after a passionate night together, they soon realise that there feelings for each other are more than what was expected. After having to leave America because his green card had run out, Richard spends time with his dying father, whose last wish is for his son to get back with Olivia. This film definitely has its emotional moments, with a witty script which was well put together by the director. Macolm McDowell's foul mouth character, made me laugh and the relationship between Brosnan and his son was touching. After watching Pierce Brosnan kick butt in the earlier Bond movies, I'm still struggling to take his comedic roles that seriously but you can't fault his performances which are always top class. Some of the situations that he gets himself in, were a bit silly but the overall concept of the film was watchable and enjoyable in parts. Watchable! Round-Up: Pierce Brosnan, 62 and still looking dashing, hasn't reached the heights that he reached when he was playing Bond but he is still highly respected in Hollywood, even though his movies haven't made that much money of late. Films like the Love Punch with Emma Thompson, Love is All We Need, Survivor and A Long Way Down, haven't really blown up at the box office and some of them went straight to DVD but thats not to say that they were bad movies. I personally would like to see him play another "Bond" type role because of his cool persona, which really worked in the 007 franchise. Anyway, this movie was directed by Tom Vaughan, 46, who also brought you What Happens in Vegas with Ashton Kutcher and Extraordinary Measures with Harrison Ford but most of his experience has been TV. He was lucky to get Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba together for this project but they both have been out of the spotlight of late. Hayek hasn't had a major role in a movie since the terrible Grown Ups 2 in 2013 and I wasn't that impressed with Everly. She still looks great at 49 and she usually puts in great performances, along with Alba, 34, who recently starred in the Entourage movie. Anyway, this movie is a decent watch with some good performances but if your not into your Rom-Com's, then this movie isn't for you. I recommend this movie to people who are into their comedy/romance movies starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek, Jessica Alba and Malcolm McDowell. 5/10

• Failed romance film, filled with clichés

  siderite2015-10-18

  I believe Pierce Brosnan is perfect for the role he had in this film: a university English teacher that is both lecherous and intellectual, romantic and a total ass, a good father and a terrible partner, yet lovable and accessible nonetheless. Such a character has a fantastic potential to create a wonderful story. However, the story was sub par, the other characters cardboard and so many opportunities were missed out again and again. If I were to rate this film on the characters, I would have to give an 8 or even 9 to Brosnan's, but something close to 3 for Jessica Alba's. Salma Hayek's wasn't a lot better either and Malcolm McDowell, as the father, was 0-dimensional! I understand old actors get fewer jobs, but have you seen any of this guy's films? Can't you see how much better he could have been if given some good material? Bottom line: it's an American Britspoitation film, based entirely on Pierce Brosnan's charm, with a little bit of McDowell sprinkled in the cast to get old people like me interested. So much story potential and so many talented actors completely wasted by Hollywood accountants.