Review of Dedication (2007) by Jeff W — 09 Jan 2010

What a disappointment.

I learned of this movie accidentally, really, looking for info on Mandy Moore (who, I admit...I am a closet fan of). I made a point to check it out eventually, which I did tonight.

Billy Crudup portrays Henry, a misanthropic children's book writer with more than his share of idiosyncrasies. After his illustrator (played by Tom Wilkinson) dies, he's partnered with Lucy (Moore), who agrees to work with Henry after being offered a substantial amount of money to do so. Henry's abrasive and non-endearing behavior inhibits Lucy from the start, and makes for an extremely uncomfortable working environment. Given the fact that they have less than a month to produce a complete book, this adds to their predicament.

The script to this movie, I found disjointed. At no point did I ever believe that Lucy could ever be attracted to Henry. While I did like the back-and-forth approach between the surrealistic and absurdist angles to telling the story, as well as the returns to reality, this movie just never gets too far off the ground. I thought it was well-directed, but the actors can only do so much with the bad script they were given to work with.

Crudup does a great job at making you dislike his character, and Moore shows significant acting growth from her earlier roles (which, in my opinion, mirrors the musical growth she has displayed in recent years, coming from a bubblegum pop past). I hope that she continues to challenge herself, acting-wise. She really has the talent for it, and this was a great role for her. It's just too bad that the movie itself is forgettable.

I wanted to like this movie a lot. The bottom line is that I didn't.