Movie Review: The Roommate (2011)

Genre: Psychological Suspense  

Director: Christian E. Christiansen  

Starring: Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Frances Fisher, Billy Zane  

Running Time: 94 minutes  

Synopsis: Attending her first year at college, fashion design student Sara (Minka Kelly) befriends her roommate Rebecca (Leighton Meester) and party lover Tracy (Aly Michalka). Sara also finds a boyfriend in band drummer Stephen (Cam Gigandet), reconnects with her friend Irene (Danneel Harris), and attempts to impress her professor (Billy Zane). But Rebecca is unhinged and develops an unhealthy attachment to Sara, to the detriment of anyone who gets in the way of her obsession.

What Works Well: The early scenes capture the excited spirit of the first days of college.

What Does Not Work As Well: This miserable and derivative attempt at suspense fails at every level. Never remotely scary or engaging, the plastic writing collides with wooden acting, monotonal line delivery, and superficial characters to suck all energy out of the unimaginative plot. The 94 minutes feel twice as long and drag towards a listless conclusion that also manages to demonize mental illness without even a cursory demonstration of empathy.

Key Quote:

Tracy: Hey, Sara! Listen, something is up with your roommate.

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Movie Review: Champagne Problems (2025)

Genre: Romantic Comedy  

Director: Mark Steven Johnson  

Starring: Minka Kelly, Tom Wozniczka  

Running Time: 99 minutes  

Synopsis: In New York, Sydney Price (Minka Kelly) works for an acquisitions conglomerate specializing in buying distressed companies. She is assigned to close the deal on Chateau Cassell, a French legacy champagne manufacturer deep in debt. Sydney travels to Paris to make her pitch, and learns she is in competition with other bidders. During a night out in Paris she meets the handsome Henri (Tom Wozniczka) at a bookstore, and they spend a romantic night together. The next day Sydney is shocked to learn Henri is the son of Cassell owner Hugo (Thibault de Montalembert). 

What Works Well: Minka Kelly is adequate in the central role, without ever escaping working-girl-seeks-adventure rom-com trappings. The Parisian and French countryside scenery is crisp, beautiful, scrubbed clean, and undeniably touristy. The French dialogue is allowed to flow freely as necessary, and a few moments of humour extract some mild laughs.

What Does Not Work As Well: The thin premise and underpowered cast result in slow pacing and an abundance of filler scenes. Meanwhile, the stereotypes are layered in thick globs, most notably the tiresome stock characters representing Sydney's rivals: the fun-loving gay Spaniard, the stiff and humourless German, and the condescending Frenchwoman. The daddy issues between patriarch Hugo and his son Henri (who does not want to take over the family business) are of the eye-rolling predictable variety, and both lovers are saddled with missing parent syndrome. Is it even necessary to say that the ending is a foregone conclusion?

Key Quote:

Henri: Do you think I'm flirting with you?

Sydney: Aren't you?

Henri: Si, absolument.

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