Netflix Self-Torture Experiment Trilogy #39: All About Steve
I had to include this movie after Sandra Bullock won her Oscar…
Synopsis from Netflix: While Steve (Bradley Cooper) would have to disagree, socially inept Mary (Sandra Bullock) thinks he’s her true love and shamelessly pursues him around the country, egged on by Steve’s wingman, the sexist and mean Hartman (Thomas Haden Church). But the two men start feeling guilty for their callousness when they realize there’s more to Mary than her outrageous boots and wacky statements. Phil Traill directs this comedic tale, which also stars Ken Jeong.
My thoughts (spoilers included): Once again I find myself faced with the task of trying to come up with something new to say about a dumb romantic comedy, and I’m not really sure I can do it this time. The only thing that sets this movie apart from the formulaic rom-com is Sandra Bullock’s character, but that’s not even really a good thing for the majority of the film. She’s insanely annoying most of the time and she literally stalks Bradley Cooper across the country, being egged on by Thomas Haden Church. Only after falling in to an abandoned mine does she eventually grasp the idea that their relationship was not meant to be, and she ends the movie with a positive new direction.
What made All About Steve bearable for me were two things: 1) it made a reference to benign positional vertigo, and 2) Sandra Bullock’s character was a cruciverbalist. I don’t know…I just have a soft spot for dizzy people who like crossword puzzles. We’re a small demographic. [Two out of five stars.]
