A Lot Like Love
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| A Lot Like Love | |
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| Directed by | Nigel Cole |
| Produced by | Armyan Bernstein Kevin J. Messick |
| Written by | Colin Patrick Lynch |
| Starring | Amanda Peet Ashton Kutcher |
| Music by | Alex Wurman |
| Distributed by | Touchstone Pictures Beacon Comunications |
| Release date(s) | 2005 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 107 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
A Lot Like Love is a 2005 drama/romantic comedy film, directed by Nigel Cole.
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[edit] Plot
The movie opens with a young woman named Emily kissing her boyfriend in front of an airport. A car then drops off a geeky-looking young man named Oliver. Oliver gets out from the car and says a brusk goodbye to his reckless driver of a sister and begins gazing at Emily. He looks at her with intriguement and cannot take his eyes off of her. Afterwards, Emily and her boyfriend immediately start fighting out of the blue, and they break up right on the spot.
Emily and Oliver are about to board their plane. They soon notice each other staring at one another. Oliver is not the only interested person. On the plane, a man sitting in front of Oliver abruptly pulls back his seat and a drink is accidentally spilled on Oliver's shirt as a result. He then heads to the washroom, hearing a knock on the door, thinking it's the stewardess with a towel for his shirt. He opens the door. Much to his surprise and glee, it's Emily. Later, Emily walks out, with a meaningful expression on her face, her hair rumpled in a matted manner. Everything points to intercourse. Oliver then comes out moments later, and sits down with a suggestive smile on his face.
The two meet again at the luggage pick-up. Oliver wants to know more about her, but Emily seems unwilling to talk to him. Before they board the subway, Oliver strikes up a conversation about Emily's ex-boyfriend. He replies to Emily after she mentions that he played guitar that "Everyone plays guitar". She asks if he plays guitar and he sheepishly answers no. She claims this as "strike two". They have a chat in the subway based on what strike one was, but Emily refuses to admit it. She chimes in, "Don't get mugged," and walks out of the door with a look of attachment, and Oliver watches her leave from the now moving streetcar.
By coincidence, Oliver notices Emily on the street across him the next day, after someone has stolen his jacket. He quickly crosses the street and surprises her, noticing that she's smoking and remarks that kissing a smoker is like licking an ash tray. She replies by asking, "Really? What's screwing one like?". At the same moment, Emily's parents arrive and Oliver is introduced. They seem impressed and want to take them to lunch, but Emily refuses, making up an excuse that Oliver needs to be at the hospital to "get his test results back".
Oliver and Emily hang out at a local bar, getting to know more about each other. Oliver has set goals in his life, using the incorrect analogy of "ducks in a line". He wants a stable job, a house, a dream car, and then later, the woman of his dreams. Emily doesn't believe that he will acomplish this. He writes down his number at the back of a receipt and hands it to her, saying that if in six years, he doesn't have all his ducks in line, she should pay him 50 bucks. The two spend more time, this time hanging out in the street, and Emily takes spontaneous photos of Oliver and of the scenery with Oliver's camera. The day comes to a close when Emily leaves and kisses him, but stops Oliver from saying any more.
A few years have passed and Emily is no longer a punk with black hair. She is now a beautiful brunette and an aspiring actress. Her and her boyfriend are shown talking after a wild night. The two seem happy, but he leaves the room to work on his laptop. Emily gets a call stating that she has an interview and she excitedly tells her boyfriend, who looks at her with disdain. He then breaks up with her, leaving her disheartened.
Emily and her two friends - Michelle and Gina - take a walk. The two girls reassure her that her breakup was a good thing. Michelle stops Gina from giving Emily a cigarette and they both mention that they are planning on going to a party for New Year's Eve.
Back at home, Emily calls up her past boyfriends from her address book and desperately looks for a date for the New Year's Eve party. She finds an old crumpled receipt in her address book and when she opens it, she smiles while looking at Oliver's name and number. She picks up the receiver, but hesitantly drops it. Then she picks it up again and reluctantly calls him. Oliver's mom answers and loudly asks Oliver to get the phone. He is surprised to hear back from Emily, who asks him out for coffee, and Oliver says that he wants to meet her at her house. Emily tells him that he can come over and then rinses her mouth vigorously with mouthwash before opening the door. She finds Oliver's brother, who is deaf, at her door. He says he is Oliver, but she smiles and says that he isn't. Oliver comes out and says hi. The three talk, with Oliver as a jocular sign translator. Oliver's brother then leaves and Emily and Oliver go in the house and start kissing almost violently. Emily then pulls back and offers Oliver a drink. He declines and follows her into the kitchen. She then says that she's not the kind of girl who is desperate after a breakup. Oliver begins digging in the kitchen drawers while Emily asks what he is doing. He responds by saying that he is looking for her crazy pills. He later asks her who the latest break-up is, and she confusedly asks who told him that she had been broken up with. He states that she told him earlier during her "hypoglycemic rant" in the kitchen. He isn't getting anything out of her, so they both have a contest to see how long it would take before he asked again and she told. They enter a restaurant and give each other the silent treatment before their food arrives. They have a water fight, and Emily pretends that she is choking, a supposedly clever ruse to get Oliver to talk. Finally, Emily caves while Oliver comments that his brother is deaf and he can go days without talking. They stop at a local coffee shop while Emily talks to him about her ex-boyfriend.
That night, Emily comments to Oliver about the New Year's Eve party her friends had told her about earlier and gives him a shirt to wear while she changes into a revealing dress. They arrive at the party and Emily's friends are impressed with how good looking Oliver is. Emily keeps looking at Peter, her ex, and his date while Oliver mingles. Emily then goes over to Oliver and the two slow dance, but Emily cannot stop gazing at Peter. She then goes to the washroom and a few minutes later, the countdown to the New year starts. She begins looking for Oliver desperately, but finds herself standing in front of her ex and his date making out. She is about to cry when Oliver miraculously swoops in and kisses her. Oliver takes her to his place with Emily walking crookedly with slurred speech due to her being drunk. Oliver tells her that he is moving and she is saddened by the fact that he is moving when she is starting to like him. She then discovers that he had framed the picture she had earlier taken in New York. The two begin to kiss, but Emily tells Oliver to wait while she goes to the restroom. Oliver starts to meticulously fix himself, and even swallows some toothpaste. After quite a few minutes have passed, he finds Emily asleep on the toilet, snoring and mumbling all the while. He gently carries her to his bed and she wakes up the next morning to find herself alone, with his shirt on to keep her warm. Oliver had left a note and his camera for her.
A few more years later, we see Oliver who is now with a girlfriend named Bridget. She is dismayed because she thinks that Oliver is too preoccupied with work. Oliver becomes more dismayed than her when she decides to break up with him. He meets up with Emily, who tries to cheer him up, but he can't be moved. Emily has now become a photographer. The two decide to take a spontaneous road trip up north. They start to flirt, and Emily gets her camera set up for a picture. Oliver and Emily begin to strip for a nude picture! They stand underneath the moon's light, subject to the beauty of their company. They both lean in and finally let their feelings for each other out with a kiss, and later, much, much more. They wake up in sheets, lying side by side after a night of each other. They begin driving back to Emily's home, but this time, Oliver has an important meeting for his business and he has to leave for New York. After a long goodbye, Oliver leaves as he gives Emily a gaze of longing for a small moment, which she secretly reciprocates. While he is in New York, Emily asks him to visit her mother's grave. It is her mother's birthday. As Oliver places blue flowers on her grave, they both talk on the phone, as Oliver soothes her from her mother's early death and tries to cheer her up with an odd made-up joke. She thanks him gratefully for his comical attempt to make her smile.
Oliver makes a painful decision between Los Angeles and San Francisco. He wants to stay with Emily, but has to move in order to make his business successful. He decides to move, and his business booms. But a few years later, it is sadly closed down. Oliver returns to his parents' house full of emotion. His brother encourages him to live his life instead of being caught up on goals. One day, he finds Emily's work displayed in a small store. After hearing that the artist comes by often, he waits for her to come from across the street. He finally sees Emily - or so he thinks. She is nothing but a look-a-like. Filled with sorrow, he is shown in front of Emily's house. This time, he has a guitar and sings her a song in the courtyard. He then tells her that he doesn't have a stable job, he has neither a house nor a car, but could she be his once more? She is however already engaged. The two part once more, seeming as the last time. Later, Emily is still engaged, but realizes that she doesn't love her fiance. She breaks up her engagement and desperately looks up Oliver, but right before hears from Michelle that he is about to be married. She goes to his house in an attempt to stop his marriage. He immediately notices her, yet she looks back at him, embarrassed. When Oliver quickly runs to her, she tries to run away but hits her head on the glass door! Everyone crowds around her, and urges Oliver to go back to the wedding. Yet, Oliver chooses to help Emily get up and then asks her what she is doing at his home. She says that she looked him up and that she should leave, her teary eyes looking back at him. Everyone at the wedding is staring at him, waiting on him so the wedding can start, yet he is staring at Emily, who leaves. He looks in Emily's direction and then behind him, where the wedding is taking place. He quickly runs to win her back. When she is walking to her car, he stops her directly in the middle of her tears. Everyone from the wedding has followed him as he then tells Emily that she was not too late because it was his sister's wedding, not his. Emily's tears stop as they share a long kiss, the final resolution of the story.
Tagline: There's nothing better than a great romance... to ruin a perfectly good friendship.
[edit] Main cast
- Ashton Kutcher — Oliver Martin
- Amanda Peet — Emily Friehl
- Kathryn Hahn — Michelle
- Kal Penn — Jeeter
- Ali Larter — Gina
- Tyrone Giordano — Graham Martin
- Taryn Manning — Ellen Martin
- Gabriel Mann — Peter
- Jeremy Sisto — Ben
[edit] Soundtrack
- Semi-Charmed Life - Third Eye Blind
- "Walkin' on the Sun" - Smash Mouth
- "Save Tonight" - Eagle Eye Cherry
- "Mint Car" - The Cure
- "Mad About You" - Hooverphonic
- "Trouble" - Ray Lamontagne
- "Know Nothing" - Travis
- "If You Leave Me Now" - Chicago
- "Brighter Than Sunshine" - Aqualung
- "Hands of Time" - Groove Armada
- "Look What You've Done" - Jet
- "Breathe (2 AM)" - Anna Nalick
- "Maybe It's Just Me" - Butch Walker
[edit] Trivia
- The plot is similar to that of the film When Harry Met Sally.
