Waiting For Forever (James Keach, 2010): US

Reviewed by Nicholas Berquist.  Viewed at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Some films make us laugh, some make us cry, and some films make us do both.  James Keach’s Waiting For Forever was surprisingly funny and unexpectedly touching in a non-traditional romantic comedy fashion.  Keach takes what we have come to expect from the genre and delivers so much more.  Anyone who has suffered a tragedy, had a family, or fallen in love (a.k.a. just about everyone) will find this film immensely personal.

Generally, romantic comedies follow a certain pattern. Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back.  Waiting For Forever doesn’t violate this pattern; it just pushes the limits showing us the same story in a radically different way.

The story begins with what we take to be a love struck young man named Willie, played by Tom Sturridge.  Willie is on his way to see Emma (Rachel Bilson) who we originally assume is Willie girlfriend.  An elderly black couple picks up a hitchhiking Willie.  While in the car, Willie goes on to tell his life story.  He tells them of the tragic death of his parents and the strength Emma provided for him to help him through the tough times.  Despite the tragic nature, the couple in the car makes this scene funny rather than sad.  Their mannerisms while listening are hilarious.  In fact, I was convinced this was a comedy film with the bright lighting, bright color palette, and knee-slapping humor.

As Willie arrives in his hometown hoping to reunite with Emma, we become aware this story has much more to it than a few jokes.  Willie suffers from some mental ailment allowing him to think his parents are always with him.  He even speaks to no one periodically, tilting his head to the side and murmuring a few comments.  Jim (Scott Mechlowicz), Willie’s older brother, introduces the audience to this problem.  He has assumed the father role for Willie and thinks it’s time for some tough love.  This is when we become aware that Emma has no clue Willie is in love with her.  Actually, she has her own boyfriend and career.  If Willie plans on winning the heart of Emma he seriously has to pull his act together.

The first thing that really jumped out was the dialogue in this film.  To put simply, it was brilliant.  Just about every line delivered had a dual meaning.  If the line didn’t have any dualism then the character’s actions conflicted with the words coming out of their mouth.  If they were sad they would say they were happy even though their shoulders would be slouching and their eyes red from crying recently, just too give an example.

Also, the cinematography and art direction were very well done.  The film itself had a dualistic nature.  For Willie’s scenes, the picture had a bright palette with lots of shades of gold and amber.  For Emma’s scenes, a cool palette with lots of blues and purples dominated the picture.  The shooting style also differed.  For Willie it was stationary, tripod shots.  For Emma it was handheld, rugged shots.  Eventually, Willie has an abrupt wake-up call from reality and the styles switch.  This is something quite subtle but expertly done.

Though this is a romantic comedy it is still a very touching film.  Traditionally, the most emotional scene is the reunion of the lovers.  Instead, Keach relies on the relationship of two brothers to deliver one of the most emotional scenes I have ever witnessed.  This may not be true at all, but for those of us who have older brothers would find it impossible to keep dry eyes during this scene.  Jim has just paid Willie’s bail and picks him up in a cab outside the police station.  Willie realizes life is not always easy and some people actually do terrible, rotten things.  Jim is deeply saddened and regrets the harsh things he said.  He knows Willie was much better thinking of the world as he did.  The emotionality and humanity these two actors portray was too much to handle.  At this point I was in serious need of a hug.

Even if you aren’t enamored with the romantic comedy genre, I still recommend giving this film a try.  It isn’t the most artsy film or the film with the best story or best jokes.  It just has a little bit of all of these in the right proportion to make a very good film.