La critique de James Berardinelli (part1)
A Life Less Ordinary, the latest collaboration from the Trainspotting/Shallow Grave team (director Danny Boyle, writer John Hodge, producer Kevin MacDonald, and star Ewan McGregor), is a movie less ordinary. And that's part of its problem. The film is so focused on being quirky and unusual that it turns into a cliché of everything offbeat. From start to finish, A Life Less Ordinary feels like a group of sometimes amusing, sometimes clever, and sometimes tedious skits forced to fit together.

The film is part romantic comedy, part caper movie, and part road movie. In fact, it's a lot like True Romance with the violence toned down. Or, if you prefer, Excess Baggage meets Raising Arizona. Still, while there's a lot to admire about A Life Less Ordinary, chief of which is its daring, I found myself sitting through the film thinking that I should have been getting more out of it -- I wasn't laughing hard enough at the comic bits, gripping the seat arms tightly enough during the exciting parts, or smiling enough during the idiosyncratic sequences. Frankly, although I admire the craft that Boyle displays in his first studio effort (which is much like the technique he previously showed in Shallow Grave and Trainspotting), the film left me cool and strangely dissatisfied.

The film starts off in Boyle's satiric version of heaven, where everything is gloriously white, but God has decided to execute some new corporate strategies. It seems that the angels haven't been doing their jobs very well when it comes to bringing men and women together for lifelong commitments, so, using Gabriel (Dan Hedaya) as the bearer of bad tidings,the Big Man decides to implement a few new "incentive schemes" The first pair to work under these conditions are O'Reilly (Holly Hunter) and Jackson (Delroy Lindo), who are sent to Earth to bring together a janitor named Robert (Ewan McGregor) and a spoiled heiress named Celine (Cameron Diaz). If they fail, they stay in permanent exile. That's the incentive.

As things develop, Robert and Celine meet when he kidnaps her as a form of revenge against her father (Ian Holm), who fired him. But Robert, an all-around nice guy who is in over his head, doesn't have a clue what to do with a hostage, and Celine, who starts out giving him lessons in "Kidnapping 101", ends up running the show. Of course, as time passes, we recognize that their heated arguments are hiding a deeper, more lasting emotion. Meanwhile, O'Reilly and Jackson, desperate to get back to heaven, show up as a couple of bounty hunters who begin to get ideas that, if they're stuck on Earth, maybe stealing the ransom might be a good way to spend their permanent exile in style.

Boyle has tried his hardest to fashion a romantic comedy that doesn't follow the expected formulas. "No cliches!" Robert screams at one point, and this seems to be the director's philosophy. Ironically, by swinging the pendulum so far into the realm of the absurd and violent, Boyle has stumbled into Tarantino/Coen Brothers territory, and, seen through the prism of all the copycat features that have sprung up in this area, huge chunks of A Life Less Ordinary seem like a retread. At least the ending, which is done using clay animation, is refreshingly unexpected.

The film is arguably most successful as a comedy. Several scenes, including one in a phone booth where Celine gives Robert lessons on how to demand a ransom, are funny. Boyle has always had a penchant for dark humor, and it's perhaps more evident here than in either Shallow Grave or Trainspotting. As a romance, however, A Life Less Ordinary is dead in the water. Cameron Diaz is a blast as Celine, the platinum-blonde queen of bad fashion and a worse attitude, but McGregor is barely interesting as the meek Robert. Together, these two generate no chemistry. There's more heat between O'Reilly and Jackson. And, speaking of the angels,

Hunter and Lindo do fine, intentionally over-the-top jobs as these two. Hunter is especially noteworthy, playing a smoking, tobacco-chewing tough who waves a gun around like she means business. Maybe she's the reason I thought of Raising Arizona. The supporting cast is populated by an interesting group of performers. In fact, A Life Less Ordinary features a mini-Big Night reunion, with Ian Holm, Stanley Tucci (as a dentist wooing Celine), and Tony Shalhoub (as a sympathetic bartender) all making appearances. Atom Egoyan favorite Maury Chaykin, who is rarely in a "normal" movie, has a part as a backwoodsman who is curious about Robert and Celine's activities in an abandoned cabin near his home. And Dan Hedaya plays the archangel Gabriel like a grumbling, put-upon representative of middle-management.

When it comes to love stories, no matter how lavishly they're adorned with auxiliary elements, I'd rather see a worn-out story with characters who really connect than something eccentric with a leading pair who are poles apart. Sadly, A Life Less Ordinary is the latter. However, while it's not the most successful romance,the movie does contain enough elements of interest to intrigue, if not always involve, the viewer. A Life Less Ordinary is fun -- it's just less fun and more familiar than I had expected.

© 1997 James Berardinelli

A difference of opinion.

Author: The_Slider from Manchester, England
3 November 2003

It seems that with A Life Less Ordinary you either love it or you hate it. Personally I am of the former persuasion, with it being a favourite of mine. I can see were the detractors come from, especially after viewing Boyle & Hodge's previous works. ALLO is in a completely different in style to their previous two films Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. But to say it is the weaker of the three films would be a fallacy. Stylistically the film is excellent - reminding me a lot of a Coen brothers film. The script is spot on and the performances of McGregor and Diaz are both excellent (which surprised me for Diaz) as their does seem to be a real chemistry between the two. A very enjoyable romantic comedy overall, and if an old cynic like me can say that, it must be good.

Probably the best romantic comedy ever

Author: kurciasbezdalas from Lithuania
1 October 2008

Danny Boyle became my favorite director after I watched this film. It looks like no matter how simple plot may appear, he still can make a masterpiece of it. The humor is pretty weird and subtle and that is what's good about it. It's really unusual film. It's not like other Danny Boyle's works (Tainspotting or Shallow Grave) but has some similarities. Actually it is even better in it's own way. Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz are probably the best film couple in history of cinema (or at least it seems like it to me right now). Althau some people may not understand this film because it's pretty weird and even may appear banal sometimes but it's not. I think it was in really original way portrayed how two totally different people can fall in love with each other. Personally I think this is the best love story ever told.

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If You Get It, Its Amazing, If Not, Its Not

Author: ecwjedi from Toronto
8 June 2005

I remember seeing A Life Less Ordinary back in the late 1990s with high expectations as Trainspotting was one, and still is, one of my all time favorite films. What I ot was a different film, but not in a bad way. It was fun and very different from anything else that came out around that time. But the funny thing was that after I saw it I kept thinking about it, little things; lines and camera shots that stuck in my head. By the time I watched it again, a week or so later, it was like the film was an old friend. There is a charm in every scene of A Life Less Ordinary and if you are able to pick up on it the film is a great experience. People I know are split on the film, most think its just OK. Although I enjoy ALLO its not perfect, some parts don't work very well and come across as corny, but the good, my man Ewan is just great as the lovable loser, far outweighs the bad and thats why it has a place in my film collection.no quote(This review was originally written by a man but then a robot replaced him.)

A Magical Movie

Author: RNHunter from California US
13 September 2005

I just love watching movies where I do not expect excellence - and yet there it is. I was very happy with a Life Less Ordinary. It seemed to me to be unique, charming, fun and just a great way to spend some enjoyable time.

When a movie gets this enjoyable, I need to ask why. In my opinion in this movie its "casting" was exceptional. And of course one then has to credit directing that puts the cast at their best. Clearly Ewan McGregor and Cameron Diaz can both be characters. Well, this is a movie that puts them at their best, funniest and most charming. The director also brings out their unique features as an actor and actress that just makes the movie enjoyable.The highlight of this kidnapping movie is also unexpected. It for me was the song and dance routine with Ewan and Cameron. They were great - fun and charming.This is a movie that I will want to watch again and again.

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Another whimsical and wacky comedy!!!

Author: PeachHamBeach from Morro Bay, Hammett Valley, Twin Rocks
27 April 2004

Years ago I didn't really like this film. I couldn't get into it, but I watched it the other night, needing a Ewan fix, and I loved it!!! It does seem a very strange mess of a movie if you browse thru it or happen to miss a scene while going to the bathroom, but I made myself pause it when I needed to and now I seem to get it!!!

Part road trip, part romantic comedy, part wacky comedy, part fantasy, it's all about how the angel Gabriel (Dan Hedaya) is getting pressure from the Big Man Himself to arrange love matches that will actually last.Down on earth, oblivious to what's going on in heaven, a janitor named Robert (Ewan McGregor) has just been fired and replaced by a robot. His ruthless boss (a hysterical Ian Holm) refuses to even act apologetic about replacing hardworking men with mindless robots he doesn't have to pay. His reason completely gone,

Robert kidnaps the spoiled princess daughter of his boss, Celine (Cameron Diaz) and hits the road with her, hoping to get his job, some money, or just an apology!!! This is the kind of film which is perfect when you need something very fluffy and fun with no heaviness. There is some violence (one very funny scene involves Delroy Lindo forcing Robert to dig his own grave), but it's so funny and comedic that it's not going to fit in with the regular violence in movies, like in Die Hard or something.t's a very delightful film for anyone who likes Ewan or Cameron. I think they had great chemistry and the whole movie was just pure fun!!!