Good relationship comedies are difficult to come by. Often times whenever a director approaches a comedy or drama focusing on two folks suffering from a bitter break up or some variation, there can rarely ever be an interesting result from the concept. As interesting as “Confusions…” has the potential to be, the Butlers never really succeed in convincing me that I should care about these people. Even in the setting of two self-absorbed people who really aren’t sure what they desire from life, “Confusions…” is never that entertaining and that’s really because the arguing often really borders on shrill and irritating. While the characters can be a portrait of two people wanting two different things in life, the Butlers never manage to write engrossing arguments when they’re confronted with the complete opportunity to settle old scores one day.

She complains he was too horny and self-centered, and he complains she’s a prude and shrew. This is the basis of the arguments for the entire story and I never really saw where it was going. Would they realize they liked one another again? Would they just part ways after their confrontation? I honestly wasn’t intent on seeing it through. “Confusions…” also rather suffers from weak performances by the couple. Brett Butler never displays enough conviction as this character of Dan and can tend to deliver the dialogue with a limp disposition to where you’re never sure if he’s drunk or someone who really doesn’t care after all. Inevitably I began to wonder why he was there and why this couldn’t have been resolved within twenty minutes. While I appreciate the directors’ willingness to include a rather repugnant male character, I just didn’t care for him, and Butler never seems to be throwing himself into this role.

Naomi Johnson is a better actress but is still weaker of a performer here than she has the potential to be. The film tells us that she’s irritable, and angry, and stifled, and I never bought her as one of those women. She approaches this dialogue with a sheer bland temperament and can also never really decide if she’s just irritated slightly or honestly angry at Dan for leaving her. The ultimate resolution for “Confusions…” is too silly to really enjoy and once it’s over I was disappointed that the Butlers never create interesting characters or conflicts. “Confusions…” has a lot going for it, but it’s just squandered on typical relationship dissections and a cliché set of characters.

I’d really like to see the Butlers do more in the future because they’re obviously not amateurs, but “Confusions…” is just not a good movie. I wanted to like it a lot, but it’s too shrill and cheesy, with a premise that really goes nowhere.

• For more information on "Confusions of an Unmarried Couple," visit the official website.

[   Link to Us   |   FAQ   |   Top^   ]
All written reviews material and content are a copyright of Felix Vasquez Jr. and Cinema Crazed.
Content borrowed without written permission will not be permitted.

¤ ¤ ¤