The promos for “Leap Year” (2010) suggest that on Feb. 29 in Ireland, women can ask men to marry them. As if that’s not allowed on the other 365 days. It’s an appropriately not-quite-interesting pitch for a movie that’s a weird mix of progressive and regressive, modern and old-fashioned. But on the other hand, it stars cute Amy Adams and understated charmer Matthew Goode, and it’s hard to stay mad at them even as they frustrate us with their obviousness.
A shallower screenplay
“Leap Year” is written by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, a duo who achieved not one but two cult favorites that give an air of being accidentally great – the “American Graffiti”-for-Gen-X “Can’t Hardly Wait” (1998) and the funny product-placement parody “Josie and the Pussycats” (2001). They also directed those films, but I can’t totally blame Anand Tucker for “Leap Year” being flatter, as this screenplay is not as deep as those.
Filmed in gorgeous Ireland, thus often distracting us from its flaws, “Leap Year” walks a delicate line. It’s obviously not set in the real world yet it also wants to say something about the conundrum of what’s important in life.
“Leap Year” (2010)
Director: Anand Tucker
Writers: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont
Stars: Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott
In terms of any tether to reality, the jig is up as soon as Anna (Adams) starts traveling across the British Isles and is never in any serious peril or strife. Even thieves who steal her beloved suitcase – nicknamed “Louis” by Goode’s Declan, a stolid pub owner who needs cash so agrees to drive her to Dublin – aren’t particularly scary. Anna even giggles when she and Declan beat up the thieves in a bar brawl.
While the journey itself is a mess lightly in the vein of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” everyone basically serves as a princess’ helper, as if Adams is back in “Enchanted.” When Anna suggests that air travel through a storm resume because she needs to get to Dublin, her privileged attitude teeters on being grating. But Adams succeeds at keeping Anna likeable.
But not particularly deep. Kaplan and Elfont pen a fantastical romance where non-practical “there’s no reasoning with the heart” love is the answer. But they never want to outright admit it, as the film is weighed down by practicality. Anna’s boyfriend, Adam Scott’s Jeremy, is all about his work as a cardiologist; he shows appreciation for his girlfriend by saying “I appreciate you.” Anna is a workaholic too; she’s an apartment stager – she makes on-market units look nice so they’ll move faster.
Afraid to take a leap into rom or com
Although “Leap Year” is about Anna deciding that adventure – rather than cautious pre-planning – has some appeal, it’s presented so obviously that it’s almost like she doesn’t have an arc. The go-with-the-flow Declan is so much more appealing than Jeremy that it’s only a matter of waiting till Anna realizes she has gone through this scripted transformation. Sure, her journey keeps getting derailed, and she protests – but only in the lightest way. I suspect Anna knows she’s in a fairy tale, on some level.
Jeremy isn’t awful and Declan isn’t perfect, and I appreciate that “Leap Year” doesn’t go all evil-versus-good, sanding off the edges of that genre cliche. Yet the film’s unwillingness to make a leap in any particular area keeps it from greatness. The sexy scenes only go partway before the camera must cut away, and the funny scenes are never uproarious.
“Leap Year” is timid about culture-clash humor. A running gag about two old coastal townies listing particular things that bring good and bad luck – and how many years that luck lasts for – is lightly amusing.
It’s like an Irish lilt of a movie — ephemerally delightful. Because it’s merely a half-step out of reality, I don’t really believe Declan is Anna’s key to living happily ever after. Yes, she wants a simpler life, but does she want it that much simpler? Check in on the new couple at the next Leap Day and Anna might be departing on her next soul-searching journey.