I was prepared not to like this one, but as it turned out, it was a decent watch. A lot of the negativity I had heard had to do with Emma Stone’s character, Allison Ng, who is one-quarter Hawaiian. Some people were up in arms that a little white girl was playing a Hawaiian. How dare she?! Of course, there is no “real” Allison Ng (the character was based on someone director Cameron Crowe knew. A redhead, no less), and the fact that a white actress is playing the role actually contributes to the character development, I think. Ng continuously reminds people that she IS one-quarter Hawaiian, and is well-versed in Hawaiian mythology, almost as though she wants to be seen as a more “authentic” Hawaiian, which wouldn’t make as much sense if the character was played by an Asian actress. Anyway, I thought that it was much ado about nothing, and thought that the film overall was respectful of Hawaiian lore (which was another criticism).

It was, like a lot of Crowe’s films, a bit all over the place, and I thought that, with the exception of what I mentioned above, and a few other things, it lacked a lot of the character development that you see in those other films. Where the film does succeed, though, is in the interaction between the characters. It’s really the best part. What was surprising to me, however, is that the main relationship in the film, between Ng and Bradley Cooper’s Brian Gilcrist, was also one of the weakest. I’m not sure why, because I thought Stone was as adorable as I’ve ever seen her, and Cooper’s scenes with other characters were strong, especially the very last scene of the film, which really pushed the film over the top for me. You’ll want to have your tissues ready. I guess I just didn’t feel any chemistry between Stone and Cooper, which is a shame, because that would have really elevated this film. As it stood, I felt like they just walked them through the Standard Romantic Comedy Relationship Checkpoints (a phrase which I am trademarking as soon as I finish posting this).

There are a few corny moments (John Krasinski plays a great, but kind of wasted character, as his scenes fall flat), but they’re bearable, and most everybody does a good job, with the standouts being the two children (Danielle Rose Russel and Jaiden Lieberher) and the two leading ladies, Stone and Rachel McAdams.

The story is really the problem here. As I said, it’s really disjointed, and never feels like it comes together, and to make matters worse, it’s uneven. There are scenes that are brilliant, and ones that just don’t work in the slightest. Scenes that are cringe-inducing (Krasinski’s wordless scene with Cooper), mixed with ones that will surprise you with how much they fill you with emotion (Russel’s scene with Cooper, also wordless). And some of it just doesn’t make sense, but in the end, it leaves you with a good feeling, and that counts for a lot. I noticed that a lot of the reviews I read for the film talked about all the reasons that the film “didn’t work,” and then said, “but I really liked it anyway.” And I think I must fall into that camp, as well.

Don’t let the negative press sway you on this one, especially if you like any of the players, or romantic comedies in general. As Richard Roeper has pointed out, yes, the leaked Sony emails revealed some harsh criticism of the film by executives, but they also revealed that the executives were pumped about Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. IMDB gives it a 5.3. I’d say that’s pretty fair, and since I round to half points, I’ll go with a 5.5. Aloha! (running time 1:45)