The Dilemma

"The Dilemma" was directed by Ron Howard.  It stars Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jenniffer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Queen Latifah, and Channing Tatum.

Ronny and Nick (Vaugn and James) are best friends.  One day Ronny finds out that Nick's wife, Geneva (Ryder) is cheating on Nick with a guy named Zip (Tatum).  Ronny spends a while trying to make a decision that would take most people less than a minute, whether or not to tell Nick that Geneva is being unfaithful.  Yep, there's the dilemma, that same dilemma which gives this movie its imaginative title.

The cast is talented and they do the best that they can with a mediocre script.  Yep, kind of like what I said about "How Do You Know."  Queen Latifah and Kevin James and Vince Vaughn have a couple of funny interactions together and I found out that Channing Tatum can be surprisingly funny.  I don't even really like Vince Vaughn all that much, but I was just really glad that he isn't Owen Wilson.  However, unfortunately this is proof that Kevin James will never be in anything as wonderful, memorable and hilarious as the "King of Queens."  Take any episode of that show and you are guaranteed more genuine laughs.  Winona Ryder is also very talented, and I hope to see her in movies for years to come.  At first you hate her for cheating on her husband, but then you realize that technically he cheated first, which doesn't make what she did any more right, but you just have two people in a marriage making horrible decisions.

This movie is too long.  I don't know why people feel the need to make a comedy close to two hours long. It is almost always a dumb idea, unless of course we're taking about "My Cousin Vinny," which is charming, well cast, and quite hilarious.  "The Dilemma" was not annoyingly long, like some movies that I've seen, but approximately 20 minutes could have been cut out.  It dragged a little and there were not enough jokes to keep things interesting and the plot wasn't something that warranted a 2 hour running time.  While I'm mentioning the quotes, this is unfortunately not a laugh out like comedy, at best you may smile or smirk, and occasionally, if you're lucky you may hear yourself half giggle once.

Hans Zimmer is back to do another score.  He is really not meant to do music for romantic comedies.  It just seems weird and cheesy.  He should stick to action movies and drama since he is actually an incredibly talented man.

Ron Howard can do way better than this.  I promise all of you who read this.  This is nowhere near his best work.  If you want to see the wonder and talent that is Ron Howard then take this time to watch "Apollo 13", "Cinderella Man", "A Beautiful Mind", or my personal favorite "Frost/Nixon," one of the best films I have seen in the pasts couple years.  I actually think I smiled multiple times during it.  With that being said "The Dilemma" is better than "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  It's just so weird to think that he directed that.  Also, one more thing Ron Howard was involved in making "Arrested Development," one of the funniest shows you will ever watch.

Well this review kind of lost it's way.  In all honesty it wasn't terrible.  I wish the movie was shorter and the jokes were better and more frequent.  I guess what I am trying to say is that people should watch "The King of Queens," "Arrested Development," and "Frost/Nixon" instead. 1 1/2 out of 4 stars... Somewhere around there.  All I know is that it was better than "How Do You Know."

P.S. The morally right decision was to tell your best friend immediately, in case there was any confusion.  And another fun moral fact, DON'T CHEAT ON YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

-Joseph Sbrilli