A few weeks ago, I saw a preview of a movie while I was waiting to sob through The Fault in Our Stars.
Adam Levine? Um, yes please.
Keira Knightley? I love her.
The writer-director from Once? I’m sold.
Begin Again is about what happens when lost souls meet and make beautiful music together. Gretta (Keira Knightley) and her long-time boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) are college sweethearts and songwriting partners who decamp for New York when he lands a deal with a major label. But the trappings of his new-found fame soon tempt Dave to stray, and a reeling, lovelorn Gretta is left on her own. Her world takes a turn for the better when Dan (Mark Ruffalo), a disgraced record-label exec, stumbles upon her performing on an East Village stage and is immediately captivated by her raw talent.
Is it an Oscar winning movie? No. But is it worth the ticket price and a night out with some girlfriends? Absolutely.
The songs are super enjoyable. (I’ve already downloaded the soundtrack on iTunes, which was released yesterday.) I would even wager to say that we’ll be hearing “Lost Stars” on the radio in a few weeks.
The story is familiar. Girl and Boy in love make beautiful music together. Boy gets famous and cheats. Girl has to find her way again. This time it’s with the help of a former/sometimes music producer who has fallen down on his luck.
Be prepared to laugh out loud. The new roommate, played by James Corden, has some great lines and the dialogue overall is witty and charming. Sometimes the pace of the movie is a bit slow, but there’s always something to get it back in gear.
Side note to Adam Levine fans. By the end of the movie, he’s back to his sexy self, but he sports a mustache/pornstache and a pretty ridiculous beard for a few scenes. It was a great choice to amp up his douchey character.
Refreshing tidbit
While the movie is rated R (some sites are showing Not Rated), it’s merely because of the F word. There are no gratuitous sex scenes or violence, which my sister and I both found to be a nice change of pace.
Begin Again opens today and has a runtime of 104 minutes.
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