I don’t remember seeing any trailers for Russell Crowe’s new movie, The Next Three Days.  I noticed the title when I looked up what movies might be of interest to me this weekend.  When I read the synopsis, I decided it might be one I’d enjoy.  So, I saw it on Saturday after I may hair / pedi appointment – nice “me” day!

The movie stars Russell Crowe as John Brennan who seems to be enjoying life with his wife, Lara (played by Elizabeth Banks), and son, Luke (played by Ty Simpkins) - a happy, loving, affectionate family.  Then, suddenly, their world turns upside down one peaceful morning when an army of police and detectives barge into their home to arrest Lara for the murder of her boss.  They had a serious disagreement the day before and the boss was found dead in the parking garage later that evening – Lara’s co-workers witnessed the argument, her fingerprints were on the murder weapon, the victim’s blood was on her coat, and a co-worker saw her leave the parking garage just as he discovered the body!  Slam dunk!  Lara tried to tell them about another woman that she saw and how she assumes they can account for the blood and fingerprints, but no one would listen – she is sentenced to life in prison.  After three years, all their hopes of appeals are ended with a final denial – she’s not getting out!  She becomes suicidal and John becomes desperate to find a way to get his wife out of prison and get their family back together.  So, he starts to research options and comes across a book by a guy who successfully broke out of seven prisons and he begins his elaborate plan to break her out and flee the country! 

I definitely had mixed emotions about this one — on one hand, it was a very good story and a good cast — on the other hand, it was slow and bounced around a lot.  It runs just over two hours and, given what they included in the story line, it could have easily been shortened to 90 minutes without cutting anything important out.  If they wanted a two-hour movie, they should have added more depth to make it worth sitting there so long.  As for the bouncing around part — it opened with one of the scenes much later in the film (John is driving with blood on his face and you hear someone dying in the back seat), then it jumps to a dinner out with his brother and their wives where Lara talks about the fight she had with her boss, then it jumps right to the arrest the next morning with a few flash backs from the murder scene, then it jumps right to three years later.  It really isn’t “confusing”, per se, and you can follow it, but it still didn’t make a whole lot of sense — and why did they choose the opening scene?  Other than it being a defining scene of John’s efforts to break Lara out of jail, it doesn’t really strike me as one that you would choose to frame the rest of the movie – just didn’t make sense to me.

I also expected more action — there is one nail-biting scene where I gasped “oh my God” out loud, but that was about it.  Even the scene where John goes to a meth lab to steal their money doesn’t have as much action as it could have had.

All that aside, it was still a good story and cast.  His plan is genius, even if his inexperience in underhanded dealings does get in the way a lot – and he doesn’t give up when he runs into a brick wall!  He thinks it though and changes the plan as needed to get the results he wants – very good story!!!  I was disappointed in a couple of the casting choices, though.  For instance, they have the great actor Liam Neeson portraying Damon Pennington – the author of the book that sparks John’s journey – and they only have him in one roughly less than 5 minute scene!  What?  You pay Liam Neeson to be in your film and you only have him on-screen for a blink of an eye?  Really?  And the other disappointment was in their use of Brian Dennehy as John’s father – he is in several scenes, but has little or no lines!  John barely speaks to his father – there is some history there that is alluded to, but not fully explained – so they don’t have any real dialog, but they do have a very emotional interaction toward the end.  I would have liked for them to utilize both actors more — they surely could have added a lot to the story.

With all that said, you’re probably thinking I’m gonna rate this one low — well, I’m not!  I wasn’t happy with the slow pace and bouncing around, but I think there was a lot that made up for it and it really didn’t ruin the movie for me.  So – I rate this one a solid B-, but do recommend maybe waiting until it comes out on NetFlix – going to the theater results in spending a lot of money to sit and feel like it is dragging on too long in most scenes and I did feel a little cheated regarding the lack of action – watching it for a lot less $$$ would have been preferred.  But, I am glad I watched it!

Saturday was an amazing day – weather-wise.  It was pleasantly warm with a gorgeous, clear sky.  It set the mood for a lovely day – one that I enjoyed thoroughly!  I did some things around the house and played with the girls in the morning, went to see a matinée, and got my groceries.  I managed to be semi-productive and do it in a totally easy-going sort of way.  I drank in the day and it was perfect!

One thing that made the day so enjoyable was deciding to see Morning Glory during my matinée outing.  It was one of three choices that I debated about while puttering around the house in the morning.  The choices were all very different in nature – Morning Glory, Red, and Unstoppable - so, I had to be sure I picked the right one to support my mood and how I wanted to feel for the rest of the day.  I wanted it to be a relaxed, stress-free day, so the tense Unstoppable was crossed off the mental list.  I wanted to laugh and feel good all day – both of the remaining two would have made me laugh, but I decided a romantic comedy would fit the total bill better than an action comedy…….so, Morning Glory it was!  I still want to see the other two, but another day.

The cast – can’t go wrong with Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, and Rachel McAdams at the helm!  I adore Harrison Ford – a wonderful, well-rounded actor who can do adventure, comedy, and drama with equal ease.  Diane Keaton is definitely more than a “little” quirky, but I love what she does with the characters she portrays.  Rachel McAdams is an actress who brings funny and delightful to life.  And then there is Jeff Goldblum – another quirky actor who always makes even the smallest role stand out – and the yummy Patick Wilson – enough said – in supporting roles that add much more than “support” to the success of the film! 

The plot – Becky Fuller (McAdams), a perky, energetic, workaholic TV producer, is fired from a small local morning show in the beginning of the movie.  She sends out resumes, revised resumes, and updated revised resumes to all the networks and local stations around the NYC/NJ area and hounds them with follow-up calls until Jerry Barnes (Goldblum) of national network IBS calls her to fill the Executive Producer position for Day Break – their morning show that is fourth in the ratings and on the brink of cancellation.  Becky is charged with revitalizing the ratings or the network execs will pull the plug on the show.  She soon finds out that it isn’t going to be an easy task.  On her first day, she fires the male co-host – a diva with a foot-fetish that refuses to attend the morning staff meetings or do anything that makes him get up out of the desk chair on the show.  Colleen Peck (Keaton) is the female co-host – a former beauty pageant queen with an attitude.  There is NO budget for the show and everything and everyone is unraveling.  In her search for a new co-host, she discovers that Mike Pomeroy (Ford) is under contract with the network, but not utilized – the multi-award winning news anchor has been banished from nightly news and is essentially just being paid out his contract because he, as another producer (Wilson) at the network describes him, is “the third worst person in the world”!  She excitedly offers the co-host job to him while reminding him that his contract stipulates that if an offer is extended that he refuses, the network can drop his contract and not continue paying the multi-million dollar balance.  Of course, he reluctantly accepts the offer, but makes it abundantly clear to everyone that he feels it is FAR beneath him by only doing what is absolutely necessary and being totally uncooperative, grumpy, and disagreeable.  As a side note, Becky starts a relationship with dreamy producer Adam Bennett (Wilson), but is far too busy saving her job, the show, her reputation, and her self-esteem to focus on the relationship, so it too, starts to fall apart.

The movie is funny, light, and delightful.  The characters are fun and mesh well together.  The story is interesting and enjoyable.  Put it all together and you have a winner!  The only part that didn’t quite set right with me was Harrison Ford’s deep, raspy, Clint Eastwood-ish voice - I enjoyed his gruff, grisly character, but I thought the voice was a little much.  I’m not sure if his voice is actually getting that raspy (possible) or if he was putting it on, but I was a little put off by it.  Not so much that it took away from the character or the movie – just enough that it was unpleasantly noticeable.

Overall, I loved it!  I give it an A- and highly recommend it for anyone looking for an enjoyable couple of hours.