The Dilemma: Movie Review

The Dilemma: Movie Review

The Dilemma
Rating: 5/10
Cast: Vince Vaughan, Kevin James, Winona Ryder, Jennifer Connelly, Channing Tatum, Queen Latifah
Director: Ron Howard
Vince Vaughan's back in this film, pitched as a comedy from the trailer, which is more like a drama with occasional comedy thrown in for good measure.
In the dramedy, Vaughan is Ronny, whose best mate since college days is Kevin James' Nick. These two are tight and are probably one of the best definitions of bromance I've seen for a long time - they work together and party together.
Nick's married to Winona Ryder's Geneva and has been for years - but one day Nick sees Geneva in the arms of another man.
That throws him into a moral quandary - should he tell his best buddy and risk their friendship and business partnership falling apart? Or should he keep quiet?
But as Nick looks further into Geneva's infidelity, he soon discovers the sheen of his best friend is slipping a little and the whole right and wrong leads to plenty of dilemmas for Nick - and those he loves.
The Dilemma falls into the Couples Retreat territory - that is to say, the trailer pitches it as a comedy and you head to it expecting that, and that's a little far from what's actually served up on the big screen.
It's a mixed bag too - some painstakingly raw honest moments are well done and the drama is good too. But with a two hour running time and not enough funny, you may feel in a bit of a quandary yourself about whether this film is good or not.
Vaughan is okay as the suitably downbeat Ronny whose world falls apart amid suspicion and mistrust - and Winona Ryder (who appears to be undergoing something of a cinematic comeback this year) certainly gives her all as the morally challenged wife.
The main quartet are realistic and genuinely well acted to be believable and Ron Howard brings an assured eye to the direction yet The Dilemma lacks that certain kind of pizzazz and oomph which it needs to keep it moving along as it shifts into the more straight acting and out of the humourous territory.

But it is worth seeing for an hilarious scene where Ronny gives a very amusing toast but as you have to wait for over an hour to get to that part, you may feel yourself drifting and entering your own quandary about whether you want to wait that long.