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Tedford’s direction really keeps “God Help
Me” a lively and energetic romance comedy, with competent pacing and
tight editing. The chemistry between the characters is interesting,
especially since they all pull in pretty good performances and feel
natural when communicating on-screen. They all feel like actual friends
which helps the film feel more intimate than staged.
Many people that adhere to a religion
explored here will likely find “God Help Me” to be a refreshing change
of pace in the romance comedy, but the sad thing about certain films
with particular themes is that they should be able to have their own
themes while making the story accessible to general audiences. Films
like “Bride and Prejudice” gained acclaim in spite of the potentially
alienating Bollywood atmosphere because of the romance and twist on the
Jane Austen novel, as well as “Bend it Like Beckham” which was about a
sport popular in one country, but because of the story of friendship and
love, became a classic. “God Help Me” likely won’t seem all too
appealing to those of different faiths, or of atheism, basically because
Tedford steeps the film so far down into religion, it’s almost
impossible to relate to the story. Every single character refers to the
bible in every other instance, a good portion of the film is set in a
bible class, and so on, and it tends to get tedious.
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Beyond the themes, though, “God Help Me”
never quite breaks free from its conventions. For all
intents and purposes it’s a simple romantic comedy, and
really nothing more. While you have to appreciate Tedford’s
ability to add a sense of fun to the film, it really never
gets off the ground as unique and innovative. As a simple
romance comedy it can never really grapple the genre either,
sadly. |
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Tedford’s screenplay revolves heavily around
inadvertent sitcom situations with the group of well meaning friends
trying to set their buddy Ryan up with his dream girl, Trudy. This sets
up the film for comedic hysterics such as getting Trudy to vomit, a
matchmaking test that goes awry, and an audition that flops big time.
What keeps “God Help Me” from launching is that the characters just
aren’t very relatable. Many of the supporting characters really just
appear to motivate the story rather than pose their personalities,
particularly Ryan whose basic purpose is to be the catalyst for the
story, while we sadly learn nothing about the idyllic Trudy who remains
a concept and nothing more. There’s really a lot of potential for “God
Help Me” to be a funny and fresh romance comedy, but stuck in doldrums
of its genre, it could never quite win me over.
With good performances, and very good direction "God Help Me," is
competently made. Sadly, it's stuck in the conventions of the romance
comedy, while its religious themes have the possibility to alienate
outside the faith it explores. There is a lot of talent and potential,
but it just didn't win with me.
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