The Dilemma

Directed by: Ron Howard
Cast: Vince Vaughn as Ronny
Kevin James as Nick
Winona Ryder as Geneva
Jennifer Connelly as Beth
Channing Tatum as Zip
Queen Latifah as Susan Warner

Rated: PG-13

*The following may contain spoilers*
There are certain "Laws of Hollywood"; things that are widely excepted when going to the theaters. One of these "laws" used to be that when big names are associated with a movie, it's going to be good or, at the very least, entertaining. The Dilemma broke this law.

Dilemma tells the story of two best friends, Ronny and Nick (Vaughn and James) who seem to have it all. Nick is happily married to his college girlfriend, Geneva (Ryder) and Ronny is about to propose to his girlfriend, Beth (Connelly) and their personal business is about sign a long-term deal with Chrysler. Everything seems to be going great....

Then, as Ronny is planning his proposal to Beth in the botanical gardens, he spots Geneva kissing another man (Tatum). Appalled and shocked, Ronny must now decide the best way to break the bad news to his friend.

Because it's a movie, this decision will not be made easily and will only happen after poisonous plants, lies, confrontations and over the top smackdowns occur.

Dilemma is supposed to be a comedy about an awkward situation; at least, that's what the commercials say. The end result, however, was a lot more painful. The whole movie seemed like it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be funny or serious, leaving an overall messy feel. Their also seemed to be a few plot points and scenes that really made no sense in relation to the rest of the film, suggesting that maybe a bit too much was left on the cutting room floor.

Vince Vaughn seems to be known for his ability to monologue and in every movie, he has at least one long-winded, fast-talking rant about something. Normally, I'm a fan and find it funny to hear him freaking out about it. However, it got really old in The Dilemma. It felt like at least once a scene, he started talking really fast and for a long time about something. Then, Kevin James started doing it. He didn't do it as well, but he did it. The problem with a lot of monologues is that it breaks up the rhythm of the scene. It turns a conversation into a run-on sentence and gets very tedious.

Along those same lines, James and Vaughn's relationship in the movie was both tedious and unbelievable. These two "best friends" spent the majority of their interactions with each other yelling and arguing. Not only did it make their friendship unbelievable but it made the whole thing hard to watch.

Also, Kevin James played his character as being angry and unhappy all the time, even before he finds out about his wife. As a result, you don't totally sympathize with him when he finds it all out. It also clashes with Vaughn trying to be the funny-man; it feels like James is playing the serious side and Vaughn is the humorous, once again seeming like the movie can't make up it's mind about which it wants to be.

Overall, I was disappointed in the movie. I had seen trailers and actually laughed out loud, so I was expecting even more from the full-length film. Instead, it was confusing, hard-to-watch and the only funny parts were those from the commercials. I don't know where Ron Howard's head was at, but it certainly wasn't fully into this movie.

Personal Rating: 3 of 10
Plot: 2
Sexuality/Sensuality: 3
Spiritual Aspects: 1
Drugs/Alcohol: .5