Movie Review: "Down With Love" starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor

Many date films have been attributed with being "cliche" and catering to only one gender, but "Down with Love" is the kind of flick that boys won't fall asleep in. A witty and robust romantic comedy that pokes fun at the traditional roles of women, in the workforce and dating, during the early 1960's. With wonderful costuming and "Austin Power-style" physical comedy, this film is great for any couple that's tired of fighting over what to rent at the video store.

The movie is modelled after a popular film-based in the same period called, "Pillow Talk", starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson. Bearing such strong similiarities that Renee's facial expressions often mimic those of Ms. Day's. The film also steals part of it's storyline from this classic, as Ewan's character, Catcher Block, pretends to be country boy turned astronaut, "Zip Martin", to win the affections of Barbara Novak, a best-selling author.

The film is about a girl from Maine that ventures into the Big Apple to meet with her Editor and her publishing company about her book, Down with Love. After the all-male board of the publishing company finds out that the book is about how women can behave more like men sexually so that they can focus on having career-driven lives, the men flip and refuse to promote the book. But Barabara's Editor, Vikki Hiller (Sarah Paulson) has an ace up her sleeve, she's managed to get neurotic and loveless, Peter McMannus (David Hyde Pierce) to pursuade his start reporter Catcher into doing an article about her book in the most prestigious men's magazine in the nation, "Know", for Men in the Know. Catcher being the outlandish phlanderer that he is continually stands up Barbara since he thinks she's some dowdy librarian, and instead pursues three separate stewardesses during each of their planned meetings. Barabara eventually catches on and vows to have nothing to do with him further.

Still plagued by how to get the book to the masses, Vikki and Barbara manage to get Judy Garland to compose and sing a song about her book on the Ed Sullivan Show. In two weeks time her book becomes an international best-selling spawning women the world over to oust love from their lives. Catcher is soon made aware through a cardboard store advertisement, that Barabara is a swinging blond bombshell, and rushes to schedule a meeting with her to do the story. Barbara and Vikki, reveling in their success and Vikki's new promotion, rebuff Peter and Catcher's continuous calls.

In a finally act of vengence, Barbara cites Catcher as the "worst type of man" when asked on a late night gameshow. Catcher, who's now been driven to the brink by the humilation, devises a plan to thwart Barbara by getting her to fall in love with him so he can expose her to the world as a girl that isn't "down with love". The movie then ensues into a crazy montage where Catcher wines and dines Barbara on numerous dates over the course of a month while Peter tries desparately to gain Vikki's affections before Catcher ruins Barbara.

Eventually after almost being outted as Catcher at a party, Barbara and Catcher (re: "Zip") agree to consumate their relationship. All the while Peter has finally won the attention of Vikki, but only because she wants to get married Peter because she thinks he's gay. Peter, in an effort to clear up the confusion about his sexually, accidentally lets loose that Catcher Block is Zip Martin, and his plot to destroy Barbara. All the while, at Catch's apartment, Barbara and Catch get hot and heavy, allowing Catch to elicit the Barbara's lovesick confession to Catch and his "hidden" recorder. One of the three stewardesses then storms into the room addressing Catch, and effectively outing Catch as Zip to Barbara. Catch then proceeds to cite how he's "finally caught her", but Barbara then launches into a huge confession of her own, and a huge plot twist in itself. Barbara, isn't in fact "Barbara", but Nancy Brown, a secretary he had for about three months. During that time she fell in love with him, but heartbroken with the though that she might just be another "notch on his bedpost", she complied a complex plan to win his affections.

Catcher finally realizing that he's met his match, admits that he's in love with Barbara as well, and conceeds that they should wed and have kids. Barbara, despondent that he wants to make her just another housewife, comes to grips that even though she didn't intend it, she's no longer Nancy, but Barbara, a "Down With Love" girl, and can't be involved with the type of guy that Catch is.

Catch plunges into hopeless depression and finally realizes that the only way to get Barbara back is become the type of man that she could marry. Barbara has since gone on to open her own multi-national corporation headed by her new magazine, "Now", for women in the now. While Barbara is now refusing to see Catch for any reason, he manages to get in under a loop hole, as she's required to consider all applicants for a new magazine writing position. He then pitches his story to her outlining an expose about himself, and how she's made him a new man who is willing to work along side her in the industry. She then reveals that she's topped him again by changing her persona into someone who is a little of both Nancy and Barbara. Catch's only reply is: "I knew you would". They leave via a helicopter on the roof that soars into the sky headed for Las Vegas and a quickie marriage.

Down with Love capitalizes on the fantasy that many women have that they can tame a "bad boy" and turn him into a "good husband". Though the real life results are often more tragic than triumphant. It also takes a humorous look at the trials and tribulations that women endured in the male-dominated workforce of the 1960's. At it's core though it's about man's ability or inability to accept women as their equal.