“It's not the meaning of life, Alfred, it's the feeling of life.”
Down to You is yet another movie I have seen over and over again and I cannot for the life of me remember how I first saw it. For the past eleven years (dear God I feel old!!) Down to You has been one of my all time favorite movies. I watched this the other night for the first time in years and all the love I have for it came back in full. To me it is not a typical romantic comedy/chick. It has a lot of feelings, a very good story, and one of the most important things that is highly lacking in the rom coms of recent years likeable characters.
The movie is told from the perspectives of Al (Freddie Prinze Jr.) and Imogen (Julia Stiles) in a flashback. The two first meet at the start of their college semesters in NYC at a local dive bar. Al is a sophomore and Imogen is a freshman. It was love at first site. Their story leads the audience through special dates, first kisses, and pretty much their whole honeymoon phase. But once the first year comes up and they move to a new year in college their relationship starts to change. Imgoen feels like she is missing out on her youth and she sees Al as an old man.
Imogen leaves Al and heads to San Francisco to finish her school. Al is torn apart and his life is never the same without her. He flunks culinary school because he is so unhappy. He dates again but none of the girls can hold up to his first love.
His father is a famous chef who just got the go ahead for a new cooking reality TV show and decides to throw a party to celebrate. Imogen is in town on a business venture for the magazine she works at and goes to the party. She and Al have not seen each other for a few years. They walk around Central Park until the very early hours of the morning. They realize they still love each other.
At the end we see that Al and Imogen are living happily together in San Francisco.
There are a lot of funny and crazy things going on throughout the movie that I do not want to give away.
The cast is one of my favorites every character is quirky and funny and loveable. Zac Orth plays Monk one of Al’s friends who starts out as a porn star and becomes a well known actor. His other friend Eddie goes through phases trying to find his identity and spot in life. Selma Blair is Monk’s first costar named Cyrus. She likes Al because he is sweet and wants him to make pancakes for her. Rosario Dawson as a pot head is one of the funniest things ever. Ashton Kutcher has a small role as a guy named Jim Morrison who looks like the lead singer from The Doors. Henry Winckler plays Al’s father. All these people come together to make the story of Al and Imogen so much fun.
I know Down to You must sound like just another crappy rom com movie but trust me it is not. It is not mushy and romantic to the point where you want to throw something at the screen. I guess I have some really good memories watching this movie with my friends or by myself and just always really enjoying it. I wish chick flicks were made with such care and talent today like Down to You was eleven years ago, I might be able to handle them more if they were not so cheesy and gooey romantic and happy.
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