Susan Granger’s review of “DOWN TO YOU” (Miramax Films)
More and more movies are being made for a target audience – and this bland romantic comedy is aimed at an under-20 demographic, particularly teenage girls. Rated PG-13, it’s about a young couple experiencing the thrill, along with the trials and tribulations, of their first love. Freddie Prinze Jr. (She’s All That) plays Al, a genial New York City college student aiming for a career as a world-class chef, like his celebrated father, while Julia Stiles (10 Things I Hate About You) is Imogen, a talented art student who steals his heart. Early in the plot, he brings her a cake. “This is sacred,” Al says about cooking. “Cake is my world,” Imogen purrs. But the path of true love never runs smooth, particularly in this clichŽ-ridden, one-dimensional soap-opera, written and directed by Kris Isacsson. A silly sub-plot revolves around Al’s kooky room-mate (Zak Orth), a cynical, aspiring film-maker, being pursued by a seductive porn starlet (Selma Blair) who used to study chemistry at M.I.T. Plus there’s a guy named Jim Morrison (Ashton Kutcher) who’s predictably obsessed with this rock-star namesake. But there’s no real dramatic thrust. Henry Winkler and Lucie Arnaz do their professional best as Al’s parents who dream of the day when their son can work with his dad, known as Chef Ray, on television; their high-concept show would have the pair storming, like cops, into unsuspecting people’s homes and making dinner for them. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, Down to You is a cutesy, shallow, formulaic 3. Maybe it will work better on video.
