If you like predictable romantic comedies like “The Proposal,” “How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days,” “27 Dresses,” and “The Ugly Truth,” you’re in luck. Because “Leap Year” is exactly the same movie!
The movie follows the same classic plot line. A pretty, yet obsessive girl with a rigid life plan meets a man who does not fit with her ideas, and after deeply hating and annoying each other for a period of time, they have a revelation and fall in love.
“Leap Year” is the story of Anna Brady, an urban perfectionist, who works as a stager – glamming up apartments in order to make them more attractive to sell. Her quest for perfection includes wedding her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy.
Due to his failure to propose, she decides to follow him to his conveniently timed medical conference in Ireland to pop the question, taking advantage of the Irish female tradition of proposing to men on leap year.
Along the way, Anna finds herself stranded in Ireland and enlists the help of rugged Irish pub owner Declan to assist her on her journey to Dublin. You can guess what happens next.
The inherent sexism in the idea that a woman has to travel across the world in order to be allowed to propose to a man once every four years is hard to ignore, although the aspect of tradition is romantic.
On that same note, the Irish were portrayed in an extremely stereotypical manner; nearly every scene in Ireland took place in a bar.
The opportunity to display the beauty of Ireland is not lost and in fact, it is the long shots of Ireland’s rolling hills and ancient castles that are the best part of the movie.
Although the film lacked originality and humor, Matthew Goode and Oscar nominee Amy Adams performances still sparkled. It is hard to take your eyes off of either of them.
Goode’s Irish accent is spot on and irresistible, while Adams is as charming as ever and her red hair and porcelain skin are perfectly complemented by the breathtaking views of the Irish countryside.
“Leap Year” grossed $5 million at the box office last weekend, bringing its total gross to $17 million.