Alex & Emma (2003)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer (WGA):

Jeremy Leven (written by)

Release Date:

20 June 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

Is it love... or are they just imagining things?

Plot:

A writer must turn out a novel in thirty days or face the wrath of loan sharks.

Plot Keywords:

Novel | Writer | Stenographer | Novelist | Paris When It Sizzles

Cast

Luke Wilson	...	Alex Sheldon / Adam Shipley
Chino XL	...	Tony / Flamenco Dancer #2
Lobo Sebastian	...	Bobby / Flamenco Dancer #1
Rob Reiner	...	Wirschafter
Kate Hudson	...	Emma Dinsmore / Ylva / Elsa / Eldora / Anna
Paul Willson	...	Whistling John Shaw
David Paymer	...	John Shaw
Sophie Marceau	...	Polina Delacroix
Alexander Wauthier	...	Andre Delacroix
Leili Kramer	...	Michele Delacroix
Rip Taylor	...	Polina's Father
Gigi Bermingham	...	Madame Blanche
Jordan Lund	...	Claude
François Giroday	...	Croupier
Robert Costanzo	...	Bus Driver

Also Known As:

Loosely Based on a True Love Story (USA) (working title)
The Gambler (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some language.

Runtime:

USA:96 min | Argentina:96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Ireland:15 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Chile:TE | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:7 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39965) | Canada:PG (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Epsilon Motion Pictures

Trivia:

When Alex and Emma go outside for a walk, after they go on the boat, they are walking and there is a flash visible. It was a paparazzo taking a picture.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the Cuban Mafia gentleman are dangling Alex over the roof, one of them says, "In thirty days." His voice does not match his accent, and his lips say something else.

Quotes:

Emma Dinsmore: Alex? If you think you're having a heart attack and you're going to die, call me first, okay? No use wasting money on the bus if you're just gonna be dead when I get here.

Movie Connections:

Remake of La fête à Henriette (1952)

Soundtrack:

It All Depends on You

Endearing Hybrid of ADAPTATION and PARIS WHEN IT SIZZLES

Rob Reiner's return to the romantic comedy genre starts out pleasant but unremarkable -- that is, until the Central Casting Cuban loan sharks leave (though it's funny when they appear in the novel-within-the-movie as shady flamenco dancers) and wastrel writer Alex Sheldon (any relation to Paul Sheldon in Reiner's earlier adaptation of MISERY? Hmm... :-) starts dictating his novel to smart, opinionated stenographer Emma Dinsmore. That's when ALEX & EMMA springs to life like a goofy cross between ADAPTATION and PARIS WHEN IT SIZZLES. Luke Wilson is likable enough as Alex, but I must admit I think his brother Owen Wilson would've brought more verve and magnetism to the role. (Man, Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson together on the big screen -- I'd pay full admission price for that! But I digress... :-) As Emma, our household fave Kate Hudson plays a slightly starchier brunette version of her usual endearing self. In particular, she seems to be having great fun playing not only Emma, but also several variations of the same constantly-revamped au pair/cook/all-purpose domestic in Alex's novel-in-progress as it's enacted onscreen. I liked Emma as soon as I realized she and I share a certain quirk: we both like to read the end of books before buying them (albeit for slightly different reasons: Emma feels if the ending isn't good, it's a waste of time to read the book, whereas I like to see how the rest of the book happened to lead up to that particular ending. But I'm digressing again -- this movie had that effect on me; make of that what you will! :-)! I think writers would appreciate ALEX AND EMMA more than most moviegoers, if only because it does a pretty good job of getting into a writer's head, and the gags involving the novel-within-the-film are funny and inventive. Interestingly, ALEX & EMMA is very loosely based on Dostoyevsky's relationship with his stenographer, who he wed in real life. In fact, the movie's original title, LOOSELY BASED ON A TRUE LOVE STORY, would also have fit the novel-within-the-film, which turns out to have more parallels with Alex's real-life experiences than he'd previously admitted. (THOSE SWEET WORDS would've been a good title as well, especially since that's also the name of the Norah Jones song over the end credits.) Anyway, ALEX & EMMA would be a nice "date movie" for writers and the people who love them; now that it's available on home video, why not rent it for a snuggly movie-watching evening at home? :-)