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Ronny Valentine (Vince Vaughn), right, and pal Nick Brannen (Kevin James) celebrate their Hawkishness in Ron Howard’s comedy “The Dilemma.” |
Ron Howard’s “The Dilemma” is a Chicagoan’s movie.
It was shot in the Windy City. It shows lots of Chicago locations.
It stars Chicago actor Vince Vaughn, who grew up in Buffalo Grove and Lake Forest. It features Chicago sports teams.
It even shows a brief glimpse of an Oberweiss milk bottle. Late in the story, Vaughn incorporates the Oberweiss slogan into a line of dialogue: “Simply the best!”
Regrettably, “The Dilemma” is not simply the best.
It is simply a confusing, erratic “dramedy” that preaches the importance of honesty, even though none of the main characters actually practices it.
“The Dilemma” is also a victim of a bait-and-switch marketing strategy.
Universal Pictures’ trailers and commercials portray the movie as a wacky comedy about a man who sees his best buddy’s wife smooching another man at the Chicago Botanic Garden, then becomes wracked with uncertainty about how to handle it.
“The Dilemma” certainly begins as a wacky bromantic comedy, but takes a bumpy detour into much darker territory as the characters shed their humorous veneers and put their true nastier natures on display. (Read more…)