Films to avoid

In my years as a film watcher and reviewer, I have seem some dross. Some utter dross. The last two films I've seen qualify for this category.

Both seemed fairly decent on the outside, with actors who had won accolades and had amostly decent track record. Both, however, revolve around a love interest story arc, and this is where they seemed to fall down.

Morning Glory, starring Rachel McAdams and Harrison Ford, is about a young woman who is made the new executive producer of an American Breakfast show named Daybreak (nothing to do with the equally awful real-life UK counterpart) and finds herself at constant loggerhead with the news anchor whom she wishes to make the star of the show. Sadly, there is nothing of any interest within the film for anyone to invest in, or even casually enjoy. The acting is woeful, the dialogue is corny and unoriginal, and the ending is spectacularly bland.

How Do You know stars Jack Nicholson, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson. Last name aside, that's a fairly decent cast by anyone's standards. However, the film is a mish-mash of predictable rom-com and a seemingly serious attempt at a business side-story. One which never really gets taken seriously. The film contains clichés left, right and centre, and never feels like a fluid or coherent piece of work. To top it all off, the budget was pathetically big. $120 million. A shambles of a film, and a budget to match.

Avoid.