Falling Up (2009/Anchor Bay DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C-     Film: B-

 

 

Romantic Comedies have produced some of the phoniest films of the last 30 years, but a few of them break through to be something more like a Say Anything… or (500) Days Of Summer, but it is rare to see one almost work like David M. Rosenthal’s Falling Up (2009).  Here is a film with an impressive cast, good ideas and very likable leads that is held behind by one to many flaws, yet has its moments and deserves to finds an audience just he same.

 

Joseph Cross (Milk, Desperate Measures) plays smart, hard-working nursing student Henry O’Shea, in college to make a career for himself.  One day, his father decides against his doctor’s orders to play handball at a local park and suffers a fatal heart attack.  As a result, he has to leave school and get a job.  In a bad economy, he lands up being a bellhop at an expensive apartment building.  He has a tough boss (the always effective Joe Pantoliano) and does what he can to learn the job quickly.

 

Early on, he meets Scarlett Dowling (the beautiful Sarah Roemer, of Disturbia, among others) who is dating a guy with a drug problem that Henry has to eventually save.  As the couple’s relationship starts to go bad, Scarlett and Henry become interested in each other.  His boss and her mother (Mimi Rogers in a thankless role) are not happy and retaliate, but that will not be the end of it.  There is Henry’s sister (Rachel Lee Cook in her best role in years) who really cares about him and their mother (Annette O’Toole) dealing with becoming a widow.  He even gets advice from his co-worker (Calvin Brodus aka Snoop Dog in a reserved performance).

 

Cross and Roemer have great chemistry together and as this moved along, I wished this had been an even more personal film by a more personal director, but Rosenthal is just finding his way as a filmmaker and follows a book-like narrative approach more than he should.  Still, more works here than not and even against a few moments that could have hurt the film.  Instead, it is one of the better films of its kind lately and is worth checking out.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image was shot on 35mm film by Director of Photography Joseph Gallagher, with a solid recent history of good work on TV on series like Deadwood, Lie To Me & True Blood.  This can be a little softer than I would like at times, but would like to see a Blu-ray down the line because this has a good look to it.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better with some good surrounds for a dialogue-based comedy and though the dialogue can be off in spots, Mark Mothersbaugh’s score is not bad.  However, music is overused and that is especially true with vocal songs.  The only extra is behind the scenes footage under 3 minutes with no narration whatsoever.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo