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Waiting For Forever (2011) Rachel Bilson
IMDB | RottenTomatoes | FilmCritic
Streaming: Amazon, Netflix
Genre: Romantic Comedy with Dramatic Mystery subplot
STUFF:
PG-13, 1 hr. 35 min..
The Short Story
(Benny & Joon meets Serendipity)
Will Donner (Tom Sturridge) has been obsessed with Emma since they were 10 years old. What Will and romantic women think is precious in his adult crush, is defined by his brother (and most others including Emma) as a mental illness called stalking. Will Emma’s reflection on the happiest time of her life with Will change her view?
The Best Review You've Never Read
THIS IS THE REASON I STARTED THIS BLOG. The critics hated this one too. I’m shocked it only got 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. This world is waaay more cynical than I thought. I’m a romantic. But I likely haven’t finished a Lifetime romance movie and gag at what passes for a lot of (profane) Romantic Comedies. Contrivance and insincerity should qualify the directors of such schlock for the death penalty in my humble opinion. But this one really, truly got to me.
Up until this movie I would say that SERENDIPITY with John Cusak and the amazingly Grace Kelly-like Kate Beckinsdale was my favorite, most recent, romantic comedy. This may be close.
I identify with a guy who refuses to subscribe to “convention” and “maturity” when it comes to what is and is not acceptable in one’s life view. Romantics all are I suppose, but many of us only have a distant memory of a childhood crush to sustain our hope and fantasy that indeed, a real soulmate is out there for us all. And of course, that person won’t care how much money we make, or our idiosyncrasies but “gets us” in a way that allows us to be free, truthful and trusting against whatever might come.
Will Donner lost his parents at a terribly young age. Emma held his hand and comforted him showing him the first unconditional love he could remember in his life. He had to move away with his brother and rarely saw Emma after a few visits in their teens. His brother grew cynical and “grew up.” Will didn’t.
When Emma, played by Rachel Bison with whom I began my movie crush on in JUMPERS, has to come home to see to her dying (but hilariously sarcastic) father, Will finally works up the nerve to tell her how he has felt about her since they were children.
Although you think you see a conventional romantic comedy ploy coming a mile away in the forlorn current boyfriend of Emma’s who shows up first, Steve Adams does a brilliant job of getting in the fast lane at DeLorean speeds.
Indeed, Will must face maturing and moving on, while Emma must come to grips not only with being obsessed over by a lunatic, but figuring out what is truly important in her life that seems terribly sad despite outer worldly success.
I suppose one reason I relate so strongly to this move is that when I was 15, there was one girl who looked at me and talked to me in a way that no women has ever since. She defined for me the feminine attention and devotion that makes men want to conquer kingdoms and provide for them all the spoils thereof. I also have thought of my Rachel often as the disappointments, heartaches and wear of the realities of real-life relationships slowly sandblasted my expectations of what love could be. Was there a love so strong like that of Jacob for Rachel in the Bible that 7 years of working for her dowry would seem like a day? Is Song of Solomon with it’s clear evidence of obsessive love truly attainable on earth individually as well as the love Christ has for his Church? Movies like this one make you believe it is so.
