Alex & Emma
January 2004 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Romantic comedies, it seems, are the intellectual counterpoint to big, dumb action movies: both have set rules, stock characters, and repetitious situations. They're the "girl" in the boy/girl relationship that the two genres form: "I'll go see Paul Walker with you if you'll go see Meg Ryan with me." To find a film that not only follows all the prescribed rules, but also actually manages to be inventive and entertaining is a rare thing.

Alex is a writer with a gambling problem. Or, more accurately, a Cuban problem, since they are hanging him upside down out of the window. He has 30 days to finish his new novel, get his advance check, and pay off the Cuban Mafia. To that end, he hires a stenographer to transcribe as he dictates his newest Gatsby-like novel. Loudmouthed and contentious -- two excellent qualities for a court stenographer, I am sure -- Emma soon begins exerting her influence on the story.

Alex & Emma's story is very predictable, hewing tightly to all the conventions of the genre. Man and woman meet and dislike each other; man and woman begin to fall in love; either man or woman makes a mistake/creates a misunderstanding late in the game. This requires a large, sweeping gesture that in real life would be considered dangerously obsessive but in the context of the film is a sweet, redemptive act.

With the basic plot set, romantic comedies have to stand or fall on the embellishments of their scripts. The twist in Alex & Emma is one borrowed from Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride, in turn copped from the far better movie by Philippe de Broca, Le Magnifique: As the novelist writes the story, it appears onscreen in flashback-like sequences. As author Alex dictates his story, the audience actually sees the characters from the novel develop and interact with one another.

Underscoring the point, everyone in the cast does double duty. Luke Wilson is both author Alex and 1920s tutor Adam Shipley. Hudson is stenographer Emma and an au pair of ever-shifting accent and ethnicity. Even the Cuban Mafia shows up in the past of the novel. The characters play well in both eras, particularly Wilson as the meaty but impoverished gadfly -- he has the look of someone who belongs to those art-deco days.

Hudson spends most of her time beaming beneath one wig or another. While the novel scenes call for her to perform Ylsa, Elsa, Eldora, or Anna in a very broad, "playing to the cheap seats" manner, this stance unfortunately creeps into modern-day Emma at times. Those moments are, admittedly, rare, which just makes them stand out all the more.

Packaged in a simple snap case, the DVD is slim on extras, offering only trailers in addition to its full-length commentary. For that feature, Reiner and Wilson team up to provide a cheerful and informative track that seldom drags.

Colors are decently balanced, slightly blue in the modern day and shifted more toward the yellows in the 1920s. Even the lighting plays into the change of eras: Shadows in Alex's dreary little apartment blend into one another, while the golden light of St. Christopher island seems to pour into every corner.

All told, Alex & Emma is surprisingly enjoyable. It has some eye-rolling sappy moments, but is never as creepy or overplayed as When Harry Met Sally (though it does steal some elements from that film). Actually, it’s quite truthful about the creation of fiction -- yes, the writing process really does work the way Alex & Emma shows it.

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