AMB Reviews

All About Steve: 6/10 Stars

Release Date: September 4, 2009

Content Advisory: Rated PG-13 for sexual content including innuendos. A man and woman almost have sex while in a car, but it is stopped before anything explicit happens (they straddle each other and kiss passionately, while the girl wears a bra and skirt, and the man is shirtless). A scattering of other sexual references. A tense scene involves a tornado sucking up a car. A woman, man, and group of kids fall down an empty mine shaft (none are killed). One very muffled f-word.

Review:

"All About Steve" is said to be one of the worst movies of all-time. It looks like I'll just have to disagree with the critics on this one...

In Short:

"All About Steve" is a comedic little film that is touching yet corny and a bit stupid. It tells the tale of Mary Horowitz (played by my favorite, Sandra Bullock), an extreme optimist who makes crossword puzzles for the newspaper. Then she meets Steve, and is convinced that it's love at first sight. But when he goes on a news trip around the country, what can Mary do? Well, she can stalk him. And that's what she does for the entire movie, embarking on a crazy and adventurous quest to find Steve, whom she barely even knows. Who knows? She may even learn a few lessons along the way. Stupid? Yes. Corny? Yes. Hilarious? No. Uplifting? Yes. Funny? Yes. Worst movie of all time? Good heavens no. No. No!

In Full:

In "All About Steve," Mary Horowitz is the biggest optimist you'll probably ever meet. No matter where her life goes, she tries her best to make the best of it. Her job? Making crossword puzzles for the newspaper. She lives with her parents at age 40, and hasn't had a boyfriend for... a while. Then she meets Steve on a blind date. For Mary, it's love at first sight. For Steve... it's not. And when he embarks on a business trip across the country, so does Mary. Hitch-hiking, tornadoes, and... falling down mine shafts. She experiences it all... just for Steve. Along the way though, she learns a bit more about accepting others for who they are and being yourself no matter how much you don't fit in. It's a "Sesame Street" type lesson, but it sure hit home to me.

Sandra Bullock is my favorite actress. When I heard that this was her worst film of all time, I knew I had to check it out. Sandra Bullock? Her worst performance? The two just didn't seem to fit. Let me tell you that her role of Mary is quite a hard role. You won't really understand until you see the movie, but I now see why she chose this role. Her character is brave, determined, optimistic, quirky, and just downright fun. This is definitely not Sandy's best performance, but I like how she's stretching the boundaries of her acting box. Bradley Cooper turns in a decent, if not bland performance as Steve, who is never really given much to do (despite the title of the movie). Thomas Haden Church rounds off the cast with a larger and quite funnier part.

The visuals were corny and unrealistic. I'm just going to be downright honest. It began with a short-lived fist fight between Steve and his pal, Hartman. The punch honestly reminded me of action movies back in the 60's, where you could just tell the punches were fake. Then a tornado came and swept its way across the screen, looking as artificial and CGI-ish as it can get. You can tell that it wasn't the main focus of the film, but it did give it a more... childish and immature feel when those parts did come on.

What can I say? If you've watched the trailer for the film, you know what it's going to be like. If you found the trailer hilarious, you'll find this movie hilarious. If you found the trailer stupid, you'll probably find this film stupid. For me, I neither found the trailer hilarious or stupid. It made me laugh, but not too hard. While entering the theater, I had a sinking feeling that maybe the critics were right. Maybe this was just one huge disaster. Was it? No. This film deserves better grades than what critics are giving them. It wasn't hilarious, it never made me laugh until my sides hurt, but it made me feel cheerful and optimistic. It made me long for the kind of bubbliness and happiness Mary had. It was a corny movie, and the dialogue a bit wooden, but it gave me a good feeling at the end, and left me feeling uplifted. Stupid? You might say so. You might not.

"All About Steve" is one odd movie. From the beginning, when Sandra Bullock begins talking... and talking and talking... you know something's different about the movie. And there is. This is one weird film, a kind that doesn't come along very often. Many would argue that it's a good thing. Me... I'm not so sure. Though I didn't love this movie (6 stars proved that), I most certainly was glad I saw it, as it left me with the age old moral of being yourself and not being ashamed of it. I could've learned that from "Barney," but learning it from this movie clicked and made me feel all the more happier. I don't recommend this movie to all, but if you're in the mood for some stupid, corny, uplifting, and humorous fun... check this one out. It may be your ticket. As Mary says: "A good crossword puzzle must be entertaining, solveable, and it must sparkle." This movie doesn't sparkle like Mary Horowitz, but it has a certain glow about it that helps you move past its corny and stupid tendencies.