Credit: Universal Pictures
Writer/Director:
Ben Younger
Cast:
Uma Thurman……….Rafi Gardet
Meryl Streep……….Lisa Metzger
Bryan Greenberg……….David Bloomberg
Jon Abrahams……….Morris
Zak Orth……….Randall
Annie Parisse……….Katherine
Jerry Adler……….Sam
Madhur Jaffrey……….Rita
Universal Pictures presents Prime. Running time: 105 minutes. Rated PG-13 (on appeal for sexual content including dialogue and for language). Available on DVD: March 7, 2006.
The movie:
How did people, especially women, miss this romantic comedy in 2005? Hmmm, it could be because the romance depicted in Prime is grounded in reality. No idiot story involved. None of this pretending to love a guy just so he’ll finally move out of his parents’ house. Writer-director Ben Younger gives us a movie where the characters and dialogue are truthful.
The film is intended for those who were born in the early 1980s. People like me. Today, those boys and girls who were weaned on a steady diet of MTV and ABC-TGIF foolishness are all grown up, and starting to fend for themselves while looking for love. In this comedy, Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman have a doctor-patient relationship. Streep is a therapist who Thurman confides in when dealing with her fractured marriage. The issues of a bad marriage are real enough that we understand her grief. Trying to pick up the pieces the movie evolves into a story with two trusty plot devices. There’s the romance between lovers that widely vary in age, and a mistaken identity that complicates matters.
The problem begins when Rafi Gardet (Thurman) and David Bloomberg (Bryan Greenberg) meet by chance at a movie theater. David is with a date at the time, but there’s no question he’s attracted to Rafi. After his relationship falls flat, he begins to date Rafi. The age difference is apparent, but since they both lie about ages, neither knows how big the gap is; Rafi is 37 and David is 23.
When Rafi tells her therapist Lisa Metzger (Streep) that she has met a man, there is a mutual excitement. Even with the age difference, Lisa believes this is good for Rafi. As their weekly sessions persist Lisa gets minor details about Rafi’s boyfriend. He’s a painter who is ashamed of his work. And he has a relationship with his mother that is downright maddening. A quick spoiler warning for those of you who have not seen a TV spot or trailer advertising the movie, the one where Universal blatantly reveals the plot secret: David is Lisa’s son. They have different last names because she remarried. Since Rafi originally told her he was 27 years old, Lisa need not wonder if her beau was her son. So before it was a 27-year-old man dating a woman about 34. When, instead, it was really a Jewish son of 23 dating a just-divorced 37-year-old. Big difference.
The revelation causes Streep’s character to consult her own therapist as she wonders how to approach her relationship with Rafi. As a therapist Lisa’s opinions are theoretical while her decisions as a mother are rooted in a “I just want what’s best for you” approach. Her therapist says to continue seeing Rafi as a client. But there is a conflict of interest that should have been addressed.
The mistaken identity device in Prime lasts too long. But it does lead to interesting scenarios between the three stars. Like Lisa and her husband shopping for furniture at Crate and Barrel. There she sees the two lounging on bed, testing it out. Trying to avoid detection she drops behind a bed and forces her husband to hide to. This action causes a Crate and Barrel employee to come over. “You’re scaring some of the customers,” she tells them.
The most interesting development is the role reversal. Characteristically, it is the man that pays if a couple goes out to dinner. But David is trying to make ends meet while Rafi lives in a nice apartment. Working in the fashion business has its benefits it seems. When Rafi decides to let David move in, he becomes disengaged from Rafi. Before, the two would enjoy each other’s company, both in restaurants and in the bedroom. Now, David is jobless and is accustomed to hanging out with his friend Morris (Jon Abrahams) and playing video games, even though a beautiful woman is just a few feet from him.
Prime is a better-than-most romantic comedy because it deals with pitfalls that all relationships face. At first glance David and Rafi were enamored with each other. But as the love at first sight moment dissipates and the relationship begins there is give and take. Should this romance last? Rafi has expressed to Lisa that she wants a baby, but at 37 her biological clock is winding down. David is not eager to be a father; he can’t even sustain himself let alone a child. David may talk like he’s older than 23, but his behavior is sometimes that of a 13-year-old.
Ben Younger (Boiler Room) is straightforward in his approach at creating a story where love does not always conquer all. He grew up with a therapist for a mother, and at one time dated a woman who was seeing a therapist. So, he had an epiphany and created a movie with performances and a romance grounded in reality. The humor, while played for laughs, rings true. The whole mistaken identity angle lasted too long for my liking, but the finale as they reminisce is quite rewarding. Perhaps Rafi and David can meet again, hopefully replacing the leads in a movie intended for Matthew McConaughey or Sarah Jessica Parker.
Score: 8/10
The DVD:
VIDEO: How does it look?
(Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen)
Prime looks exactly like it did when I saw it in theaters last November. The film’s lively New York atmosphere looks great in widescreen. No spec of dirt, the print is clean with a nice transfer on DVD.
Score: 8/10
AUDIO: How does it sound?
(English and French Dolby Digital 5.1)
The soundtrack overall is excellent, downright pleasing to the ears. The musical score is easy to forget because right now I’m having a hard time remembering the romantic moments highlighted by Ryan Shore’s music. Still, there are other moments, especially near the end of the film where music by Rachel Yamagata hits just the right emotional notes.
Score: 8/10
SPECIAL FEATURES: Feature commentary, deleted scenes, and more!!
This Universal release isn’t a feature loaded title, but there are some extras worth watching (and listening).
There are 11 deleted scenes (8:29) that are quite amusing. Most of the scenes are small extensions that have some good chuckles that were ultimately left out of the movie. Some involve David’s friend Morris. It’s a shame his scenes had to be left in the editing room since everybody knows a guy like Morris. Guys who are uncouth and talk before the thought process can commence.
While the deleted scenes were fun, the three-and-a-half minutes of outtakes are anything but. No way these outtakes were the cream of the crop in the flub department. There are no screw-ups or uncontrollable laughing, just minor flubs and alternate takes on lines. What nerve!
Also included is a behind-the-scenes featurette called Prime-Time Players. A little over eight minutes in length, this package is mostly fluff, but the cast and crew do their best at promoting the film. Like how the movie dives into the concept of love. Are relationships meant to last forever? According to Ben Younger he wanted to make a romantic comedy that was funny, but grounded in reality. Not like those other romances with stereotypical characters. He expresses that romcoms have become less real, and namedrops titles like Annie Hall and When Harry Met Sally, two classics that have defined the genre.
The last extra is Ben and his producer Jennifer Todd providing an enjoyable commentary. You know these two get along great when they reverse roles when introducing each other. Todd reminds the listening audience that Bryan Greenberg was indeed paid to play the part of David. This bit of info is expressed as he is making out with Uma Thurman. Now it’s time for useless movie trivia you will learn while listening. 1) Prime was originally at another studio before becoming a property at Universal. Executives were pushing different actresses for the Rafi role. Younger jests that the studio wanted someone like Bea Arthur to play the part. 2) After Morris throws a pie in a girl’s face, one of her brothers that chases him down the street is none other than Ben Younger’s brother Dave. 3) The man who plays Streep’s husband was a classmate of hers at Yale’s drama school. 4) Morris gave a cat real beer while hiding in a closet. 5) Movies are only allowed to have one non-sexual f-word to get a PG-13 rating. Whew.
Score: 6.5/10
