The Choice - F

Quick Hit: Just a terrible excuse for a love story, it finds solace in the mundane and the ordinary, namely, its script and premise.

I’m absolutely a romantic. I actually really enjoy a good “chick flick” when they come around, provided the female characters are interesting and don’t just throw themselves at the main male. That’s because love is beautiful, and film is beautiful, so therefore, a film about love is also beautiful (not exactly following logic rules there, but oh well – is love ever logical?). That is what led me to such favorable ratings for Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight.


But, I don’t just gaze starry-eyed at the screen when watching a movie about love. In fact, I think the most of audiences, and assume that most people value a couple of things when watching a movie. One is something called “plot” and another is something called “dialogue”. I think at the very least, movies can at least be average if they have those two things in the ballpark of good.

If this was a ballpark, we’d still be standing at home.

The Choice doesn’t really have redeeming qualities. It simply is. The story starts with a man philosophizing about the fact that we all have choices. Wow. Deep.

We are then subjected to a story in which the main woman leaves a man who has seemingly done nothing wrong. Sure, he seems like he’s a bit of a tool, but the story doesn’t do anything to convince us of that. Instead, we simply see her cheat on a guy because her boyfriend is on a business trip. This is almost reverse sexism, because so often we see movies where the main girl is dating a d-bag that cheats on her, and it throws her into another man’s arms, or at least leads her there (try The Wedding Singer for an example of this done well). In this one, we’re just supposed to say it’s all ok, because she’s “meant” to be with the main guy.

I don’t even remember the character’s names. That’s how bland it is.

Any former Superman deserves better than this. Sorry Tom Welling.

Anyway, the movie is often prone to huge time lapses forward. I tend to like these in film, as long as we address the fact that time has passed. The Choice looks at that, laughs, and says, “psh, instead of this, we’re going to completely ignore the fact that time passes.” Characters look exactly the same, dogs don’t age (despite the fact that they are pure breeds of large dogs, whose health fails early), and we know substantial time passes, because kids appear and grow in these time lapses.

I don’t often get angry at a movie, but as I’ve typed this review, I’ve gotten my Irish temper a little fired up. I can’t believe that I wasted the hours of my life to find and watch this movie. It was terrible, with terrible characters, terrible dialogue, and a completely unbelievable story (and I liked BVS)… don’t waste your time.

I’m giving The Choice a “F”.

For more on this film, check out IMDB.