February 26, 2014
Stuck in Love is the story of an acclaimed writer, his ex-wife and their teenaged children coming to terms with the complexities of love over the course of a tumultuous year.
William Borgens (Greg Kinnear) is a two-time PEN/Faulkner award–winning author who stalks his ex-wife two years after their divorce. He pays his children to keep journals so that they’ll focus writing rather than working the common high school job of flipping hamburgers. His daughter Samantha (Lily Collins) is a sworn cynic who rejects any men who show any sort of sincerity or good intentions, and his son, Rusty (Nat Wolff), is a high school introvert who stays home to write poems on Friday nights.
Stuck in Love represents the stasis of William’s life; as he is unable to move on without ex-wife Erica (Jennifer Connelly) who struggles with the hostility she feels from Samantha who despises her for the divorce. They are all drowning in their own emotional holdings. The rest of the characters’ job is to throw out their life boats; guiding the misguided, in the hopes that they will reach the surface.
As director-writer Josh Boone fills the movie with many intelligent characters who must break from the state of uncertainty and misconception of love, the intended equilibrium is sadly thrown by the rather bumpy and rushed conclusion to the plot. Yet, although this romantic dramedy attempts to ram pack enough drama and plot changes for an entire season’s worth of TV episodes in an hour and a half, its endearing performances capture the audience, making it still rewarding.
Your donation will support the student journalists of Kirkwood High School. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
