We’re looking at the biggest and best romantic movies of 2011, whether it’s about pure love or romantic-comedy.
No Strings Attached
Starring: Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Cary Elwes, Kevin Kline, Olivia Thirlby
Director: Ivan Rietman
Release Date: 21 January 2011 (U.S.)
Young people these days are quicker to jump into bed than they are to date. A guy (Kutcher) and girl (Portman) try to keep their relationship strictly physical, but it’s not long before they learn that they want something more. This sort of generic movie premise is a step down for Portman, but business as usual for Kutcher. The director is Ivan Reitman, whose last three movies were My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Evolution and Six Days Seven Nights. Pray the movie does well, as it will help his case for directing Ghostbusters III.
Just Go With It
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Brooklyn Decker, Nicole Kidman
Director: Denis Dugan
Release Date: 11 February 2011
A plastic surgeon (Sandler (really?)), romancing a much younger schoolteacher (Decker), enlists his loyal assistant (Aniston) to pretend to be his soon to be ex-wife, in order to cover up a careless lie. When more lies backfire, the assistant’s kids become involved, and everyone heads off for a weekend in Hawaii that will change all their lives. This is a remake of a Bollywood film. Nicole Kidman is fourth on the cast list and not even in the trailer – her career is on the skids. Expect the usual Sandler romantic-comedy shenanigans, and if he doesn’t end up with Aniston I’ll eat my hat.
The Adjustment Bureau
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Terence Stamp, John Slattery, Anthony Ruivivar, Anthony Mackie.
Director: George Nolfi
Release Date: 4 March 2011
Sci-fi romance about a smooth-talking congressman (Damon) who seems destined for national political stardom. When he meets a beautiful ballet dancer (Blunt) he discovers there is a force determined to keep them from becoming involved. Fate says they were never supposed to have met and mysterious old men in hats act as cockblockers. The movie’s first time director wrote The Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean’s 12. Damon and Blunt are both sharp actors so they should be able to craft something thoughtful, let’s hope the chemistry is there – this is the second romantic lead of Damon’s career, after the poorly received All The Pretty Horses. Also, this doesn’t have the sexiest title in the world.
Red Riding Hood
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Billy Burke, Shiloh Fernandez, Max Irons
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Release Date: 11 March 2011
Romantic-gothic-horror take on the legend of Red Riding Hood. A young woman (Seyfried) is in love with a brooding outsider (Fernandez), but her parents have arranged for her to marry a wealthy suitor (Irons). She’s planning to run away with him when she learns her older sister has been killed by the werewolf that prowls the forest surrounding their village. As the death toll rises with each moon, she begins to suspect that the wolf could be someone close to her. From the director of Twilight, expect this to have a harder edge.
Jane Eyre
Starring: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Release Date: 11 March 2011
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre (Wasikowska, Alice In Wonderland) goes out into the world to become a governess. In her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the cold master of the house, Mr. Rochester (Fassbender). Jane and her employer grow close, but could Mr. Rochester’s terrible secret be about to destroy their happiness forever? From the U.S. director of acclaimed South American poverty film Sin Nombre. The trailer tries to make this look like The Others or something, which is misleading.
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