This romantic comedy directed by Anand Tucker has more Irish caricatures than you can swat with a shillelagh. But the clichés aren't limited to nationality: Leap Year mechanically follows the all-too-familiar road-movie path established by It Happened One Night some 75 years ago (and countless imitators ever since) in which an initially hostile couple bicker their way towards love after being thrown together on an unlikely journey (in this case, through a gorgeous Gaelic countryside filled with impishly colorful characters speaking in thick brogue). Amy Adams stars as Anna Brady, a New York businesswoman who follows her longtime boyfriend, Jeremy (Adam Scott), a brilliant cardiologist, to Dublin in order to take advantage of an Irish social custom in which women pop the question to men every February 29. When the trip goes awry, Anna winds up in a coastal town so caught in the past that it almost seems like an Irish Brigadoon. After some preliminary slapstick establishing the animosity between her and Declan (Matthew Goode), the scruffily handsome but smart-alecky owner of the local pub, the latter agrees to drive her to the city. Predictably, the pair encounter all sorts of obstacles—cows in the road, a wrecked car, missed trains, luggage thieves, bar fights—along the way, but their relationship slowly blossoms en route. Although the beautiful scenery and amiable stars make Leap Year more palatable than similar fare, this is basically the same old blarney in a picturesque package. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include deleted scenes (7 min.) and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a paltry extras package for a so-so rom-com.] (F. Swietek)
Leap Year
Universal, 101 min., PG, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $36.98, May 4 Volume 25, Issue 2
Leap Year
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