REVIEW:
Here’s the case of a movie that is only interesting because of how much it veers off the path of other movies. We’re talking about taking the usual formula for this kind of film and turning it on its head. And normally that would be a very good thing. The only problem here is that this movie is way too long, and that every scene seems to go on and on, to the point where it tires you out.
As far as what this one is about, they say it’s a Cinderella story, of rags to riches. Only it’s not. Instead, the appeal is that they make you think it’s a Cinderella Story, Pretty Woman style. They convince you that the movie is about young love and defying authority and the establishment in a love conquers all kind of way. And then the pull back the curtain and reveal the truth, which is that this movie is realistic and ugly, even if its not what audiences are used to or want.
So we have a first half that is all about these two star-crossed young lovers partying and having the time of their lives. A Russian heir who has all the money in the world goes to a strip club and falls for a stripper who speaks Russian. He gets her number and invites her to his mansion the next day. Soon they are spending a week together. And then they are getting married in a shotgun wedding in Vegas. That ends the first half.
The second half is about the ramifications. Two henchmen who work for the family show up at the mansion and try to find out what happened. When they learn of the marriage, they call in their boss, who is the man in America assigned by the family to look after the kid, while he is in the country. Now this man arrives, meets with the couple, and tells them he wants them to get their marriage annulled. But then the young man, Vanya, takes off, running away from all of them, leaving his new bride stuck with these guys. And that propels us into the next story, which is about trying to find Vanya. This search for him, through all of New York seems to go on forever.
And that’s really the problem with the movie in a nutshell. It’s just way too long. At two and a half hours, if this one had been cut down and stripped of the fat, it could have actually been something good. The characters are certainly interesting enough. But the movie doesn’t know when to stop. It doesn’t know when to end scenes. That ends up being a major problem. Too bad, because this one definitely had potential.