Picture this: it is 2022, and I am in the depths of my Ewan McGregor obsession. Depths. And I am making my way, shamelessly might I add, through all of his features. Star Wars? Watched it ages before with my dad. Moulin Rouge? Hello, singing, hello, Baz Luhrmann. Trainspotting? A classic. And suddenly, I stumbled across Down with Love (2003), starring him and Renée Zellweger as love interests in what would become my personal cult classic and the film that I show absolutely everybody – I am currently at five different watches.
Ewan McGregor stars as Catcher Block, renowned womanizer, “man about town, ladies’ man, man’s man,” and top writer for the biggest men’s magazine, Know. In comes Barbara Novak, played by Renée Zellweger, with her new book Down with Love, a self-proclaimed answer to all of women’s romantic sorrows. It becomes an instant best-seller. Having previously stood her up three different times for an interview but wanting to ride off her new-found success, Catcher Block decides to take on a fake identity as an astronaut who has been in orbit for the past two weeks and has no idea about Novak’s book. Novak starts pursuing him as no other man will go out with her now that all women are having sex à la carte, as her book instructs. Catcher Block’s plan? Writing an exposé on Novak, showing that the Down with Love girl is actually a romantic by making her fall in love with him. And so, this act of deception begins.
Right, so why is this movie even good? Well, I can’t really tell you my favorite part because that would ruin the whole ending but… you have to trust me. It’s good. The film has that exquisite mix of irony and a complete lack of seriousness that works so well with the on-screen performances. I know I raved about Ewan McGregor for like 100 words but I actually think that the heart of this movie lies with the supporting performances by Sarah Paulson and David Hyde Pierce. They act as a lower-stake same level of-investment pairing that mirrors Block and Novak but allows us to take a breather from all the lying. They’re a nervous pair that works so well together it’s silly.
The set design is a mix of futuristic 50s furniture, with mid-century twists, as well as a persistence of Novak’s signature pink; it’s a visually-striking piece. The use of montages is not conservative at all, but again, it is always with a bit of an ironic edge to it that makes it so enjoyable. It’s got a (fake) cameo by Judy Garland, it’s got McGregor and Zellweger singing in the credits, it’s got it all. So please, watch this semi-obscure, ironic, way-too-pink of a movie so I can rave about it with someone else!
“Ewan McGregor 66ème Festival de Venise (Mostra) color” by https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicogenin/ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.