Warning, do not be fooled by the title; it does hold true, but love maybe taking a backseat in this one.

Love Happens is a romantic drama, which centers on the famous author Dr. Burke Ryan (Aaron Eckhart). After the passing of his wife, he has since written a book, A-Okay, which helps readers move on after losing loved ones. Returning to his hometown Seattle, Ryan is on the verge of a mega-money marketing deal while he is teaching a weeklong, sold-out seminar based on his book at a hotel.

Despite the fame, Ryan lives a miserable life since the death of his wife three years prior. Hypocritically, he refuses to practice what he preaches and move on with his life. While at the hotel, Ryan unexpectedly bumps into a beautiful florist, Eloise Chandler (Jen Anniston), who has her own love problems. With the help of one another, the duo makes sense of their pasts and the direction of their futures.

The romance gets off to an odd start. Something about the beginning of the relationship did not quite click with me; maybe it was the nasty confrontation or awkward first date. Once settled, Aniston and Eckhart were a nice match; for the most part, the chemistry was solid. Aniston’s role was fairly simple, and very much like most of her previous movie characters. Eckhart’s performance in Love Happens is very impressive; he accurately plays the tall order of inspiration, sorrow, plus romance.

Perhaps the most powerful portion of the film is offered in a subplot. A troubled man named Walter (John Carroll Lynch) attends Ryan's seminar after losing his son in a construction accident a few years ago. Failing to get his life together since, Walter is frustrated with the seminar and nearly leaves. Convincing him to stay, Ryan helps Walter ‘take a step’ in the right direction in a moving series of events.

The supporting cast offers some brief, but essential light humor in the film. Dan Fogler plays Lane, who is Burke Ryan’s manager and publicist. Judy Greer plays the character Marty, an employee at Eloise’s flower shop.

Debuting director Brandon Camp structures the film to flow beautifully and even illuminates the beauty and gloom of Seattle. The rainy backdrop is very fitting, considering the theme of mourning in the story. The editing remains simple and appropriate through the story. The camera never seems to be out of place and moves smoothly throughout. I appreciated the unique camera angles he threw in from time to time. Camp does incorporate some noticeable product placement in the movie (Home Depot, Century Tel). The light narratives of Ryan in the beginning and end were suitable; they expose some of the detail in his book. Providing some Pacific Northwest local flavor, the master shots are beautiful throughout the film. The film even has a deadline, Walter Benjamin would be proud.

As a meticulous music critic, I admit the sounds in Love Happens compliment the scenes remarkably well. The soundtrack is mostly composed of contemporary hit artists: Rogue Wave, The Eels, Postal Service and more. The part that sticks out in my mind most is a powerful scene focused on Walter that is backed by the stunning instrumental services of Explosions in the Sky (heard in Friday Night Lights).

Love Happens does not quite reach the level of an instant classic; it had some minor faults. Certain dialogue could have been improved. It may have just been me, but something about the kickoff to their romance still bothers me. Lastly, a minor plot involving a parrot emerges in the end, which I felt was over hyped.

If you are looking for film solely based on uplifting romance, like the title suggests, this one may not be your style. Love Happens strays from its title by diving into the emotional topic of mourning, where uncomfortable subplots are unveiled. The movie gets intense during seminar scenes. I found drastically different feelings emerge while watching this movie, I was anywhere from rooting for a relationship to on the brink of tears. Camp provides a multifaceted feature by touching on fear, friendship, mourning, and love. The contrasts and shifts in focus may not be for everyone, but it did have my attention the whole time.

The film has some minor downfalls, but more positives. Gorgeously shot, Love Happens was an odd, but unique trio of sad, cute, and entertaining all at the same time. With a more intense approach, Love Happens offers a taste of originality to romance. Camp may have been a first time director, but the quality does not reflect that of a rookie. Bottom line: Love Happens is A-Okay.

“The Classic Hollywood” in Amelie, Fight Club and Cinema Paradiso

Movies are changing all the time, whether it is the acting, special effects, or storylines. However, they still seem to maintain at least some of those old-school principles of vintage Hollywood. In Classical Hollywood Cinema, David Bordwell analyzes narration, fabula, causality, syuzhet, and also more detailed aspects of “classical” film. Bordwell states the classical syuzhet usually offers two plot lines (heterosexual romance and a quest). Interestingly, he admits that classical film style has become “excessive.” After studying Amelie, Fight Club, and Cinema Paradiso one can find some “classical” flavor in each.

The first film we watched, Amelie, maybe the most simple and cliché Hollywood film. The main character, Amelie, is a very shy and lonely young girl who enjoys simple pleasures in life (e.g. hands in grain, skipping stones on water). One day she discovers a simple memorabilia and is then determined to return it to its owner. While attempting to return the item, Amelie falls in love with the stranger, and then puts him through a series of unconvential schemes.

Without the need for a PHD, one can guess how the story will end. Amelie follows the standard fubula and plot. I see the movie unfold through “act” narrative. The syuzhet follows Bordwell’s track. Bordwell’s dual plot line is more distinct; Amelie intertwines the two plot lines. Following “Classical Spectatorship,” “Schemata” allows a viewer to project presumable hypotheses.

David Fincher’s 1999 hit, Fight Club, is a story about a man living a troubled life and soon goes through life changing events by meeting Tyler Durden. Due to violence, and a dreary setting, Fight Club may seem to stray from the stereotypical Hollywood classic, but it does boast some similarities.

Fight Club fulfills two major components Bordwell lays out. In the end the protagonist gets the girl and overcomes his inner-conflict. So really the result is classical, but its approach getting there was not. The causality can often be complex, but in the end it comes full circle. The film offers a traditional climax, in which the narrator’s strife is overcome. Bordwell hits on the value of an epilogue and in my eyes Fight Club has a very simple, but yet appropriate end comment (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUNSTAf2Vho 29-35).

Fincher’s film still has oppositional cinema features. Fight Club’s plot format is contrasting to Bordwell’s plot formula (undisturbed stage, the disturbance, the struggle, and the elimination of the disturbance). To me the film is in a constant disturbance and struggle stage until the very end. The fact the movie is intended for older audiences plus the gore and language can hinder its true “classical” feel. The narrative can be labeled as all three of Bordwell’s narrative categories: representation, structure, and an act. Different viewers can argue the film to be any three of the narrative styles. The thrill of the movie is the difficulty for viewers to form hypotheses.

Eleven years prior to Fight Club, Giuseppe Tornatore released Cinemo Paradiso. The movie is about a trouble making young boy (Toto) who loves film. Under the guidance of his father figure Alfred, Toto works local theaters and falls in love while doing so. After many years of absence and change, he returns to his hometown as a successful movie producer to attend Alfred’s funeral and witness his old theater be destroyed.

The movie offers the widely seen Hollywood mechanism of flashbacks. I portrayed two kinds of love in the film: romance with another person, and having a passion for something. The causality is effective through the use of flashback. The narrative is much looser than the other two movies; to me it is an example of Bordwell’s “representation” narrative. The peculiar part of Cinema Paradiso is the end. Toto watches a montage of love clips in his theater while crying. I was predicting his former teenage flame would return to him at some point, but I was wrong.

“Classic Hollywood” may always be like those sneakers that never go out of style. Even as the content and production of film alters, there will usually be ties to the customary components that made America fall in love with film.