Most American romantic comedies follow a very tired script: beautiful people, a dull love triangle with an evil man-in-post, stupid attempts at humour. 'Cyrus' is a welcome departure from this script: the story of a middle aged couple, and the dramatic tension is provided not by a romantic rival, but by a needy child. Unfortunately, there's not so much drama here, and I didn't completely buy the premise: in the opening section, John C. Reily's character is such a loser that it's hard to see what Marisa Tomei's character sees in him; while it's also hard to believe that she would wait 20-something years after the birth of her son before attempting another relationship. Ultimately, there's just not enough substance here to make a good film, in spite of the broadly realistic setting; and it's not really very funny either.
Review of Cyrus
