Review of Save the Date (2012) by Sol C — 13 Oct 2013

It's refreshing to see Martin Starr in a REAL role. He gets typecasted as the jerk, the nerd, or the weird guy and I know he has so much more to offer than that. This movie has a good cast: Lizzy Caplan, Alison Brie, Mark Webber, Martin Star, Geoffrey Arend...Did I mention Mark Webber? :-).

Lizzy Caplan has a tendency to be typecasted too, usually as the independent, wild, sarcastic female character and in this movie she embodies some of those traits but her character eventually finds compassion in the end.

There isn't much action in the film and even the climax isn't anything worthwhile, mainly the movie deals with the sisters relationship with each other and Sarah's (Caplan) inability to commit even though she has two great guys pining for her. I enjoyed the bond between the characters: I felt as if Jonathan (Webber) and Sarah really were head over heels for each other and Beth (Brie) and Sarah felt like real sisters.

What I loved about this movie were the long shots. In some scenes the director doesn't cut at all; the actors deliver their lines so fluidly that I felt like I was eavesdropping on a private conversation. This is especially noted in the scene where the sisters are walking down the pier, they begin as tiny dots and end up right in front of the camera, conversing the entire way, it was beautiful.

The bond between Beth and Andrew (Starr) is endearing but can be a bit too perfect at times. Even towards the end, when Beth realizes weddings are bullshit, their make up is full of mushy ooey gooey goodness. Or maybe, it could be that I am not used to viewing healthy relationships on screen...?

Alison Brie was kind of annoying me in the film, I think I'm just sick and tired of seeing her play the same characters over and over (another typecasted actor!). She needs a role like AnnaLynn McCord in Excision to show us a different side to her acting.

Side note: I really want to see Excision but I know I won't be able to handle it.

The end of the movie references two of my favorite films: There's a Breakfast at Tiffany's kiss at the end (with a cat in the middle no less) and the ending ends abruptly like the film Last Night. Just as Sarah is about to say something.....cut to black....roll credits.

In conclusion, I did enjoy Save the Date but after letting the movie marinate in my brain for sometime, I don't think it was as good as I initially thought. The story has no real climax and everything seems to feel perfect even when it's not supposed to; even Sarah's art is too cutesy. The acting won't let you down but Sarah and her first world problems might...and Mark Webber is pretty much naked in a few scenes... :-).