Saw this at a preview screening at the lovely Clapham Picture House last Sunday and once again Mr Gyllenhaal made me giggle like a love-struck 14-year-old.
He's still looking buff, not quite as pumped up as he did in Prince of Persia but perfect for a bit of bod exposure, of which there is plenty in this rom-com. He plays Jamie, a pharmaceutical company sales rep and womaniser who could charm his way into a nun's habit.
But of course this is a rom-com so there has to be a dose of cliche and he meets his match in the form of Maggie (Anne Hathaway) who sees through his charm. Of course Jamie falls for Maggie (and that isn't a spoiler because it's in the trailer, which is linked below) but the twist is that she suffers from early onset Parkinson's Disease.
The first half of the film has the majority of the laughs the second spends more time tugging at the heart strings as Jamie struggles to come to terms with Maggie's incurable illness and Maggie is at first mistrustful of his motives for wanting to be with her and then reluctant to 'trap' him into a future caring for her as her illness progresses.
OK so it's not going to win any Oscar's like Gyllenhaal and Hathaway's last outing together, Brokeback Mountain but it is a funny and charming popcorn movie and Jake is gorgeous *sighs*. It gets four stars from me.
Obviously not everyone is as smitten with Mr G as I am, on Rotten Tomatoes UK it's aggregated 48% from 130 reviews. On Metacritic it's fared a little better and is rated at 55%
You can sigh at Jake in the trailer here
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