Director: Brett Haley
Starring: Emily Bader, Tom Blyth, Molly Shannon, Alan Ruck
Running Time: 118 minutes
Synopsis: New York-based travel writer Poppy (Emily Bader) is invited to a wedding in Barcelona, where her former friend Alex (Tom Blyth) will be in attendance. Flashbacks reveal their complicated multi-year relationship. They initially meet as college students on a road trip. She is free-spirited and talkative, he is more grounded, and they develop a friendship and vow to vacation together every year. Their annual adventures build a deep connection bordering on unspoken love, disrupting their other romantic relationships and leading to conflict.
What Works Well: This mix of When Harry Met Sally and Two For The Road displays an occasional spark, thanks to a lively Emily Bader performance and attractive locations. Whether a man and a woman sharing a deep connection can ever be "just friends" underpins the dramatic moments, and the price of commitment fuels the tension between Poppy's desire to live in the moment and Alex's interest in defining a future.
What Does Not Work As Well: Almost everything here is derived from other movies, including the opposites attract trope, the manic pixie dream girl pulling the reserved guy out of his shell, romantic partners unable to express themselves just to prolong the running time, and vacations providing license for wild behavior (let's go skinny dipping!). The narration is trite, the music oh-so-sappy, and needless to say, the outcome a foregone conclusion.
Key Quote:
Poppy: I love it when you get weird.
Alex: I'm only weird when I'm with you.
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