Review of Feast of Love (2007) by Jeff B — 11 Aug 2010

If cinema has taught this reviewer anything, it is that life would be a hell of a lot tidier if this Oscar winner Morgan Freeman really did reign supreme over us all with a gravelly sage-like narration and tendency to play God as a nice guy (Bruce Almighty). He has gone from broken-down (The Shawshank Redemption) to downright broken (Se7en), but always with the wisest voiceover this side of Yoda?and, in his latest, he has assumed these obligatory duties again. Not even Morgan?s celestial powers, however, can salvage this live action Hallmark Card from being anything more than a ho-hummer. Harmless and well intentioned but ultimately disposable, Feast of Love does not leave filmgoers hating it?it just leaves moviegoers shrugging off the whole experience.

In the PG-13-rated ensemble drama Feast of Love, intertwining stories of life, love and attraction intertwine in a small Oregon community.

Yes, Freeman performs his narration gig, rendering the voiceover with a wink-wink all-knowingness. This is, of course, just what director Robert Benton wanted as it better inter-connects the vignettes of losers in love. Unfortunately, this standard fare (young people in love, middle-aged spouses cheating, older people coping with loss) proves, while not under-whelming, simply middling. The blame falls on a script that tends to wax gooey and sentimental. Even the most cynical of characters tends to live their lovelorn existence with the expectation of tidy resolution, which, of course, is exactly what happens. Perhaps, if Morgan Freeman narrated your life, you would expect the same.

Bottom line: More famine than feast.