Prime

Writer-director Ben Younger deserves credit for trying something fresh in the stale romantic comedy genre: Prime is really a romantic-dramedy, mixing fairly serious stuff with almost farcical elements. On the wacky sitcom side, the story follows a therapist (Meryl Streep) who goes ballistic when she discovers that one of her female patients (Uma Thurman) is dating her (much younger) son (Bryan Greenberg), while on the romantic side, the age difference issue isn't just dealt with lightheartedly, or resolved in the feel-good fashion typical of such flicks. Bucking genre norms, the film becomes steadily more intense, adding notes of religious and ethnic prejudice to the mix. Unfortunately, doing things differently isn't enough, as Prime never quite manages to convincingly pull off its mixture of tones and subverted expectations, and the ending, while happily steering clear of formula, still isn't emotionally satisfying. Optional. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include audio commentary by director Ben Younger and producer Jennifer Todd, nine minutes of deleted scenes, a “Prime-Time Players” nine-minute behind-the-scenes featurette, four minutes of bloopers, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven film.] (F. Swietek)