"Anyone who thinks it's easy to make a romcom should take a look at this. It has all the ingredients: good-looking leads (Alex Pettyfer, Eva De Dominici), picturesque locations (the film is mainly set in Puglia, and benefits from funding from the region), lightly comic music underlining the scenes, charismatic veterans in supporting roles (with Toni Collette and Andy Garcia), transparently engineered third-act jeopardy, and so on and so forth."
"In fact the plotline for Under the Stars is the inverse of, say, a great Richard Curtis one, in which implausible scenarios feel wholly realistic: there's nothing particularly impossible about Under the Stars, and yet it all feels clunkily unlikely. Perhaps none of this would matter if there was more of that elusive chemistry between the leads, but despite physically resembling the results of an AI prompt for Attractive Romantic Comedy Protagonists, observing Pettyfer and De Dominici's characters attempt to strike a spark"
Under the Stars pairs attractive leads Alex Pettyfer and Eva De Dominici with picturesque Puglia locations, lightly comic music, and veteran supporting performers including Toni Collette and Andy Garcia. The film benefits from regional funding and conventional romantic-comedy beats, including transparently engineered third-act jeopardy. The screenplay features tone-deaf choices such as an oddly named protagonist and an inverted plot dynamic that never attains plausible warmth. The central chemistry between the leads remains elusive, leaving contrived situations feeling clunky and unlikely. A mortifying onscreen adaptation sequence underlines creative missteps. The film is available on digital platforms from 17 November.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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