Just Add Water (2008)

Just Add Water: Directed by Hart Bochner. With Dylan Walsh, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Danny DeVito. An offbeat romantic comedy about a decent guy, Ray Tuckby, with a dead-end life in the dead-end town of Trona, CA. After encouragement from a stranger whom he happens upon, Ray begins to dream again. He sheds the parasites in his life, musters the nerve to pursue his childhood love, and finally takes back his community by toppling the local teenage Meth-baron.

“Iu0026#39;m always partial to sunny California movies because I live in a rainy climate. So, a few stars just for that…u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eHowever, while this movie started off strong – a sparse, dark comedy, engaging storyline; it ended on an altogether different and implausible note. Which is a shame because it was a movie with a lot of potential, good writing, good story, good casting and good acting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe u0026quot;romanceu0026quot; between the two lead characters was a snooze. For the feminists out there, if you take issue with the story of Snow White and what it implies then the love story here may also irk you. The sonu0026#39;s romantic life, while again implausible, was more interesting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe not-so-subtle symbolism of dry, arid land vs. fertile land practically smacks you in the face.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBasically, if you have a couple of hours to kill on a rainy day, watch it. Itu0026#39;s mostly entertaining. If you like complex situations neatly wrapped up with a bright Hollywood bow, youu0026#39;re in luck. If you like movies where peace is brought when gender roles are strictly adhered to, even better.”