Leap Year : DVD Review



Title: Leap Year
Directed: Anand Tucker
Written: Simon Beaufoy, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan
Starring: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Kaitlin Olson, Adam Scott
Released: 25th February 2010
Running time: 100 minutes

Anna (Amy Adams) is fed up of waiting to get married so she decides to propose to her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) herself. February 29 is leap day and according to Irish tradition it’s okay for a woman to propose to a man on this particular day.

Jeremy has to go to a meeting in Ireland (a very convenient plot device) and Anna follows him there but gets into trouble along the way, diverted flights, rough ferry crossings etc., etc., you get the idea.

That is until she meets Irish innkeeper, Declan (Matthew Goode) and asks him to taxi her to Dublin. He needs money or some random nasty Irish loan sharks are going to bust up his pub so he reluctantly agrees. So far so cliché. There’s more to come. But I’ll let you discover the rest for your self.

Will they make it to Dublin in time for Anna to propose? Will they face a number of other clichéd challenges along the way? Are they going to fall in love despite their outward differences? Most if not all of these things are very likely to happen.

But then, despite the cliché ridden plot, suddenly you remember that Amy Adams and Matthew Goode can actually act and maybe, just maybe you might actually be enjoying this film. Fair enough you might think it’s a load of sentimental rubbish as well, but the likable actors might just do enough to pull it off.

Decent direction from Anand Tucker and a relatively short running time make Leap Year a diverting way to spend just over an hour and a half. Leap Year is a decent film, and despite the obvious plotline, the acting and direction make this one worth a look.

Author : Kevin Stanley