All About Steve - Dir. Phil Traill

‘All About Steve’ is pretty-much your typical, one dimensional romantic-comedy, except instead of the man chasing the woman (or vice versa), you have Sandra Bullock playing an insane, cameraman-obsessed stalker. Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock) is a peculiar and hyperactive woman who spends her days constructing crossword puzzles for the local newspaper, which also serves as her job. But after just one blind-date with Steve (Bradley Cooper), the CCN cameraman who doesn’t have time for dating, Mary accepts that Steve must be her soul-mate and she decides to follow him and his job across the country to be with the man of her dreams.

Despite a cast consisting of Bradley Cooper, Thomas Haden Church and Ken Jeong, ‘All About Steve’ does not contain one funny or humorous moment what-so-ever. If anything, it is quite sad to see such a cast of established and upcoming talent involved in, what can only be described as a, a car-crash film. From the early scene in which a sex-starved Mary struggles to have desperate sex with Steve to the pointless and uncoordinated ending, this film is poorly written, barely competently directed and completely meaningless. How this film can even be placed within the comedy genre is a mystery in itself.

Apparently the director, Phil Traill, originally wanted Julia Roberts to play the role of Mary, but she was unwilling to take a pay cut. Congratulations Julia, you’ve missed a bullet there. If you want to watch a nice romantic-comedy starring Sandra Bullock across from an attractive and significantly younger male lead then rent ‘The Proposal’ instead. Unless you wish to torture your other half, in which case; watch this film.