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I think that the unfortunate thing about the ‘romantic ensemble’ movie is it brings to mind anodyne and forgettable messes like Valentine’s Day, although even for beloved ones like Love, Actually there is always the feeling of ‘some of these work, some definitely do not.’ It’s hard to avoid. Writing one character well is hard enough, two or four or more? Balancing that sort of thing in a single film rarely works out perfectly.
Almost Love is an attempt at that from writer/director Mike Doyle in his feature film debut; he mainly worked as a character actor before this movie. The film follows a few friends and their various romantic issues, creating conflicts, and then resolving them by movie’s end. It’s fairly boilerplate, although it is in theory trying to be a ‘modern’ take on the couple concept, but considering that it’s all people in their 30s, it can only be so cutting edge.
Instead it’s more of a take of people in their adult years trying to create stable futures or wondering about the ones they thought they had. The primary characters are the couple Adam (Scott Evans) and Marklin (Augustus Prew). Adam is an artist-for-hire, drawing the actual work of a known famous artist (Patricia Clarkson) and thus is a bit frustrated because he’s not known for the work he’s done. Marklin runs a very well known fashion website, and the two have been together for five years.
After that much time, their relationship seems to have fallen into more complicated areas, without the young passion they once had, and instead concerned with how they want to be in the future. In theory, this is the primary story of the movie, and it certainly takes up the most screen time. It feels fairly well, but the issue is that the movie then ramps up the tension suddenly and it feels a bit contrived. The two actors do their best with the material, but it’s not really the most interesting story overall.
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The other storylines are a mixed bag — their friend Cammy (Michelle Buteau) has met a new dude she really likes, but it becomes complicated when she finds out he’s technically homeless. Hilarious! I mean it isn’t really, but what tends to work better are the conversations between friends — light, funny, more interesting to see their dynamics — than any of the romantic plots.
For example, Adam’s friendship with other friend Elizabeth (Kate Walsh), connecting over the art lie feels more engaging than Adam’s mild complaints with his boyfriend. Elizabeth’s storyline is barely there, mainly a classic ‘my husband is texting a younger girl’ plotline. That’s not really so ‘modern’, it’s the modern of ten years ago. Then there’s the worst, simply the most offensive storyline, which is Zoe Chao as the other other friend Haley, who is tutoring a high schooler named Scott James (they always say both names) who carries a torch for her.
That’s weird, and it’s alarming that the movie doesn’t seem to grasp that’s not okay. Zoe Chao herself is pretty great, and even if she’s given truly terrible material here, she’s a standout in the movie. It’s odd because the movie feels so structured and carefully ‘three act’ made, but it so badly wants to be new and radical.
I don’t dislike the movie, because there’s a lot that works here: the acting of the leads, the friendship between them, and it has a good visual look to it, if not particularly amazing. But it’s the romance that doesn’t work, not for any of the characters, so it makes it feel less a ‘rom com ensemble’ and more just an ‘ensemble’.
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