Downhill

This dramedy could best be described as a hit and miss… but unfortunately more miss than hit.

The premise was promising – while having lunch in a European ski resort a controlled avalanche tears through a restaurant as a family of four are about to enjoy lunch. The husband exits in terror leaving his family behind – was his action a survival reflex or a selfish cowardly act abandoning his family to fend for themselves?

Will Ferrell and Seinfeld’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus were well cast as the married couple and overwhelmingly effective in the limited dramatic scenes. However, they could only do so much with the material they were given. A script pervaded by cheesy filler storylines and vastly unfunny dialogue which garnered chuckles rather than laughs from the audience degraded the film.

Miranda Otto’s over the top and extremely nauseating characterisation of a zany hotel manager in a supporting yet pointless role also did the film no favours.

Revamping the script with more intense dramatic scenes surrounding the wife’s emotional backlash over her husband’s cowardly act and removing all the senseless sexual references and irrelevant romantic encounters would have resulted in an interesting and thought-provoking film. (MMo)

★★

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