Twanna A. Hines @ FUNKYBROWNCHICK.com | sex. dating. relationships.

GREAT Romantic Comedy Alert: Adam (Film Review)

My matchmaker emailed me last night. We’re meeting up this weekend to get the love juice flowing. In the meantime, since we’re on the subject of romance and dating, I want to tell you about a really good romantic comedy. Last night I went to Angelika Film Center for the opening of Fox Searchlight’s movie Adam directed by Max Mayer starring Hugh Dancy, Peter Gallagher, Rose Byrne, Frankie Faison and others. If you have a chance to see it, you should. At the moment, it’s only showing in New York and Los Angeles … but shhh, I got a tip that Fox Searchlight is showing FREE advanced screenings in other cities. Click here to RSVP. At last night’s opening, Hugh Dancy and Max Mayer were there in person. (See pics on my Flickr.) If you don’t know the story line, basically Adam is about a 29-year-old guy with Asperger’s who falls in love with his neighbor. I’m a pop culture junkie. I see A LOT of movies, read a lot of books and consume other forms of entertainment. I rarely write reviews on this site. So, when I do, it’s because I really really loved the project. Such was the case with Adam. Here’s why.

REASON #1: I dated a guy who probably had Asperger’s. Interestingly, I didn’t know it when I met him. We linked up in grad school, and I liked him because he was one the most honest, pure-hearted and free-spirited guys I’d ever met. He didn’t get wrapped up in life’s stupid bullshit, and he said exactly whatever was on his mind. After we’d been dating for a while, he told me (when he was a child) teachers and others thought he’d never go on to university and he wasn’t able to learn like other students. This was decades ago; so, no one ever said the word “Asperger’s,” they said things like delayed cognitive development, hyperactive, not focused, socially awkward, gets caught in his own thoughts, etc. As I mentioned, we met in grad school. Pigeonholing be damned, he finished school and now teaches at a university. He wasn’t dumb or disabled or very dissimilar from others around him. Hmm, sometimes I think we live in the “syndrome era.” Much like homosexuality used to be classified as a mental disease, I think we’ll eventually “normalize” a lot of what are now called “symptoms.” Like, for exactly, Asperger’s and autism.

REASON #2. I’ve recently eliminated the word “retarded” from my vocabulary. I’m not perfect. I’ve done and said stupid shit that later made me think, “Twanna, you’re an asshole.” About a month ago, at my place, I hosted a drinks with a group of girlfriends. I made a stupid joke about “sleeping with retards” and I later thought: “I should probably eliminate the word ‘retard’ from my vocabulary. It’s not useful or positive and it wasn’t created to make anyone feel better about themselves.” So I did.

REASON #3. I love independent film. Before Netflix was created, back when I still lived in my small Illinois town, I used to go to Blockbuster to rent movies. It didn’t take long before I’d seen every (I’m not exaggerating) foreign and independent film on the shelf. I like seeing stories of pain, courage, love, failure, chaos and humanity reflected on screens. Adam delivers all of this and more in spades. Even if you don’t like indie film, trust me, Adam is the “one to watch.” Every now and then, the little guys (indies) get attention (Juno. Lost in Translation. Blah, blah, blah.) because they spoon feed audiences a Hollywood story in an independent package. Adam doesn’t do that; however, I still think it will be the breakout indie for a different reason: if you haven’t already noticed, box offices LOVE beautiful actors playing characters with conditions. Leonardo DiCaprio in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? Kristen Stewart in The Cake Eaters. Johnny Depp in Edward Scissorhands. Being a pretty face is easy. Taking on a challenging role is hard.

REASON #4. Speaking of pretty faces, I think the lead male actor is gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. HOT DAMN HUGH DANCY IS ATTRACTIVE!!! Seriously, when he walked up to the stage after last night’s viewing, the woman next to me gasped. When, he open his mouth and a British accent tumbled out, she did it again and sighed, “[GASP!] Oh, wow, and he’s British?!?!?!” Hang on tight, Claire Danes. HANG ON TIGHT! ;)

REASON #5. I’m a sucker for good romantic comedies. Love ‘em. Love ‘em. Love ‘em. And, they’re even better when they aren’t predictable and wrapped in pretty packages, dipped in saccharine, topped with a row bow marked and stamped with a sign that says, “IMAGINATION NOT NEEDED. WE’LL TELL YOU EXACTLY WHERE THIS JOURNEY IS GOING.” Critics agree and love this film, too. “Adam is a cut above most romances and boasts an intriguing conclusion. One comes away with a sense of hope, leavened by realism” and the film “never makes a misstep.” Want an even stronger endorsement? The New York Times says:

Playing a character who is mentally disabled can be a fast track to Oscar or to oblivion, and rare is the actor who can resist the statuette-winning, Hanks-Hoffman strategy of mannered tics and mechanical talk… [making] the performance of Hugh Dancy in the charming romantic comedy ‘Adam’ is all the more impressive [...] The humor is delicate, and the performances sweet and sure.

See the movie. Okay, enough praise for Adam. Trailer is below. Buy movie tickets online.

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Photo and video credit: Film still appears on the Adam website.