Leap Year is almost as if Amy Adams decided the two things she likes most in life are Ireland and Last Of The Summer Wine, and then looked for a movie that brought those things together. It really is like Last Of The Summer Wine went Hollywood, except featuring younger leads, with various scenarios involving people going out into the countryside, and then either they or their vehicle fall down a hill. But then, its worked for the BBC sitcom for the last 37 years, so why not Amy Adams?
She plays Anna Brady, who is upset when shes expecting her boyfriend to propose, and instead he just gives her some earrings. Not realising hes a giant prig and her life is fundamentally shallow, she decides shes going to bag her man by going to see him when hes on a business trip to Ireland, and take part in an old tradition that says woman can propose to men on February 29th (Anna doesnt seem to realise this isnt the 18th Century, and she wont be burned for witchcraft if she asked him anyway but then we wouldnt have a film, so its best to overlook this).
After bad weather causes her plane to end up in Wales, she manages to get a fishing boat to take her to Ireland (dont worry, it is ridiculous, but they rush through this in the first 15 minutes, so dont worry too much). However Anna is still hundreds of miles from Dublin and Feb. 29th is closing in fast. Recruiting local village publican/taxi driver Declan (Matthew Goode) to take her to the capital, things take a stereotypical turn when they immediately dislike each other, and their attempts to get to Dublin are stymied at every turn. Then, following a series of adventures involving everything from broken cars to having to pretend to be married, their feeling towards each other soften, with Anna realising that perhaps her current beau is the ass the audience has thought he was from the beginning, and that maybe Declan is the man of her dreams.
Leap Year really is the sort of join the dots tale that isnt interested in expending any energy at all surprising the audience. From the first 15 minutes you know exactly where the film is headed, and you know pretty much how its going to get there. Although the film wins no prizes for originality, and many of the only happens in the movies comedy sequences are unlikely to elicit much more than a titter, thankfully Amy Adams and Matthew Goode are very pleasant company to be in, and they help make the movies predictability seem less tiresome than it might otherwise have been. You know where youre going with Leap Year, but its a safe little journey that chugs along to its conclusion in perfunctory if pleasant fashion.
The Blu-ray doesnt offer much in the way of features, with just a very short promo-puff piece featurette and some deleted scenes. However the picture quality is very good, showing off the deep greens of the ever present Irish hills and clear blue skies (apparently Irish people have to do pretty much everything against a scenic backdrop, or at least they do in Leap Year). It certainly shows off the scenery beautifully, and also reveals great clarity on Amy Adams expressive face.
Overall Verdict: Leap Year may be cheesy, predictable and from the Last Of The Summer Wine school of comedy, but Adams and Goode guide you through it in such a pleasant way its difficult not to go along with them and enjoy the silly but sweet ride.
Special Features:
On The Set Of Leap Year Featurette
Deleted Scene
Trailer
Reviewer: Tim Isaac