Labor Day

Hollywood seems to love to romanticize the whole "bad boy" thing. We've had vampires, werewolves, even zombies. I wonder if the all got together and were like "We're running out of ideas! What can we do now? I know... how about escaped prisoners?"

To be fair though, Labor Day actually wasn't that bad. I was surprised by how much I liked it.

The movie takes place mostly in 1987 over the course of Labor day weekend. It tells the story of a 12 year old boy named Henry (played by the very talented Gattlin Griffith. He's definitely one to watch in the future.) and his mother Adele (Kate Winslet, who's amazing as always). Due to some very tragic events, Adele rarely leaves the house, only going out once a month to get groceries and other necessary items. One day when she and Henry are in the movie equivalent of a Wal Mart, Henry comes across Frank (Josh Brolin), an injured escaped prisoner who asks them for a ride to their house so that he can rest for a few hours and then be on his way. Adele is initially hesitant, but eventually agrees. Of course, he ends up staying for the whole weekend. During the course of those three days, Frank and Adele, two very lonely people, fall in love and Frank even becomes something of a father figure to Henry. I know it sounds absurd and indeed it is. But more on that later.

Labor Day is directed by Jason Reitman. If I didn't know that ahead of time I never would've guessed it was him. It's an odd choice for Jason given that he's directed movies such as Juno and Up in the Air, both of which I enjoyed. From what I understand, he was a big fan of the book this movie is based on. I give him a lot of credit for wanting to do something different. While I wouldn't call this his best movie, I think it's pretty good. For one thing it's beautifully shot and he really pays attention to details. Everything from the food logos in the grocery store to the news broadcasts makes you feel like you were in the 80's. I also loved how he did a good job of showing rather than telling. Throughout the movie you get these brief, well placed flashbacks that explain Frank's back-story. Another director might have had Frank go into this big, long speech. I'm glad they decided not to go that route. The way Jason did it was much more effective.

I also loved the cast that Jason put together. That was honestly my favorite part about the whole movie. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin were amazing. They both had great chemistry. I couldn't imagine anyone else playing these roles. It was also nice to see Josh Brolin step out of his comfort zone and play the romantic leading man role. Hopefully we'll see more of that from him. As I said before, Gattlin Griffith was wonderful as Henry and really held his own against Josh and Kate. The rest of the cast mostly has smaller roles since the main focus is on Frank, Adele, and Henry. Even Dawson himself (aka James Van Der Beek) has a role as a police officer. Tobey Maguire appears in this too, for all of maybe five minutes.

My biggest problem with Labor Day is that it's way too sappy and unrealistic. I'm all for a good fantasy, but this was too much. It almost felt like I was watching a Nicholas Sparks movie, although I admit Labor Day was done way better than the more recent Nicholas Sparks movies. For one thing, Frank is made out to be too perfect, aside from the whole escaped prisoner thing. He helps Adele bring in the groceries, fixes her car, and repairs things around the house. He accomplishes more in three days than most people do in a year. Not only that but as an added bonus Frank can cook, make a great peach pie, and teaches Henry how to play baseball. Then he says all these romantic things to Adele and while I admit it made me go "Aww!" more than once, that dialog was super cheesy. I'm sorry but I don't know any man that talks like that. If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't be sitting here typing this right now.

Overall though, I did enjoy this movie. While I can't see it doing well at the box office, I still think it's worth checking out if you're into sappy romance movies. Or if you're a big fan of Josh Brolin or Kate Winslet.

My Rating: 7/10