Nelson Moss is an extremely uptight workaholic who has won numerous awards in advertising and lives a luxurious, upscale life. Sara Deever is a down-to-earth, wacky vegan who lives in a cluttered apartment and walks other people's dogs for free. They cross paths during a DMV test and their lives will never be the same again. They're your regular Odd Couple. Sound familiar? That's because this scenario has been churned out over and over again in motion pictures and "Sweet November" is just about as predictable as they come leaving nothing to the imagination, you will be able to shut your brain off through this entire flop of a flick.
The stunning, and too-good-for-this-movie, Charlize Theron plays the lovable Sara. She leads a fun-filled, spur-of-the-moment lifestyle and for some reason loves to take on men for a month to see if she can change their lives for the better. She lays eyes on Nelson, painfully played by Keanu "Don't Call Me Ted" Reeves. Sara sees him as a tightly wound suit she can't wait to sick her teeth into and unwind and, reluctant at first to be her "November," eventually gives into her charm and within days they fall in love. Thank goodness he just happened to get fired and dumped by his girlfriend on the same day, allowing him to shack-up with the free-spirited Sara. Now how can the audience swallow this monstrous pill? Why on earth would two people on complete opposite extremes of the spectrum fall for each other? The character of Nelson Moss is by no means lovable and you're left not caring if he succeeds in his quest for bliss with Sara. In fact, you almost begin to hope that they fail, because why should a heartless robot like him get the girl?
The biggest problem with "Sweet November," and we're talking about a factor solely responsible for making this an awful film, can be summed up with one word: Keanu. This man truly can not act and by no means should he have the leading male role in a romantic comedy/drama resting on his shoulders. If the casting of Reeves opposite to Charlize Theron was in hopes of the actress not being upstaged, it worked. Theron's emotions are played with great conviction and does an excellent job with her character (even if it's pretty much lifted from Jenna Elfman from "Dharma & Greg"), so it really is saddening to see Keanu churn out dialog and either feel disgusted or embarrassed. "Sweet November" has its heart in the right place and can be touching in a few scenes, but it's tremendously lopsided in your feelings for the leading characters, and for a film that's supposed to be romantic this is a very harmful thing.
The stunning, and too-good-for-this-movie, Charlize Theron plays the lovable Sara. She leads a fun-filled, spur-of-the-moment lifestyle and for some reason loves to take on men for a month to see if she can change their lives for the better. She lays eyes on Nelson, painfully played by Keanu "Don't Call Me Ted" Reeves. Sara sees him as a tightly wound suit she can't wait to sick her teeth into and unwind and, reluctant at first to be her "November," eventually gives into her charm and within days they fall in love. Thank goodness he just happened to get fired and dumped by his girlfriend on the same day, allowing him to shack-up with the free-spirited Sara. Now how can the audience swallow this monstrous pill? Why on earth would two people on complete opposite extremes of the spectrum fall for each other? The character of Nelson Moss is by no means lovable and you're left not caring if he succeeds in his quest for bliss with Sara. In fact, you almost begin to hope that they fail, because why should a heartless robot like him get the girl?
The biggest problem with "Sweet November," and we're talking about a factor solely responsible for making this an awful film, can be summed up with one word: Keanu. This man truly can not act and by no means should he have the leading male role in a romantic comedy/drama resting on his shoulders. If the casting of Reeves opposite to Charlize Theron was in hopes of the actress not being upstaged, it worked. Theron's emotions are played with great conviction and does an excellent job with her character (even if it's pretty much lifted from Jenna Elfman from "Dharma & Greg"), so it really is saddening to see Keanu churn out dialog and either feel disgusted or embarrassed. "Sweet November" has its heart in the right place and can be touching in a few scenes, but it's tremendously lopsided in your feelings for the leading characters, and for a film that's supposed to be romantic this is a very harmful thing.
