‘Leap Year’ (2010) Review

Leap Year Synopsis: Anna Brady plans to travel to Dublin, Ireland to propose marriage to her boyfriend Jeremy on Leap Day, because, according to Irish tradition, a man who receives a marriage proposal on a leap day must accept it.

Anna Brady (Amy Adams) seems to have it all. Not only does she have a successful career, but she’s thisclose to moving into a prominent New York City apartment building with her handsome boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott), who also happens to be a cardiologist.

Having grown up with next to nothing, image and wealth are both very important to Anna. She is getting everything she’s ever wanted… except for a proposal. Given she and Jeremy have been together for four years, she fully expects a ring on her finger. So she is disappointed when, during a romantic dinner, he gives her a pair of beautiful diamond earrings instead.

After Jeremy leaves for a conference in Dublin, Ireland, Anna decides to follow and propose to him on leap day (February 29th) because, according to an Irish tradition, any man proposed to on that day must accept. Unfortunately, there was a severe storm during the flight, which diverted the plane to Wales.

All flights are grounded, so Anna gets on a boat instead. But the storms force the boat to stop in a small village called Dingle, where she meets a surly innkeeper named Declan (Matthew Goode). He needs money to save the inn, so he agrees to drive Anna to Dublin.

The two are instantly at each other’s throats, but circumstances and plain lousy luck keep them side by side as they try to make their way to Dublin. Along the way, they begin to warm to one another, and Anna finds herself questioning what she really needs and wants in her life.

I do adore Amy Adams in just about everything. She’s one of the most talented, gifted actors working today. But it was actually Matthew Goode who made this movie bearable for me. His Irish accent isn’t the best, but that was easy enough to overlook because he could take some truly ridiculous moments and make them genuinely funny.

As Declan and Anna deal with a crowd of cows blocking the road, Anna inadvertently causes Declan’s crappy, rusty car to start rolling backward down a steep hill. Not terribly funny, but Declan’s appalled reaction to his “baby” quickly rolling out of his grasp was one of the only laugh-out-loud moments of this movie for me. His constant mocking of Anna, her Louis Vitton luggage, which he calls Louie, and her romanticized view of the leap year tradition keep the movie from delving deep into cornball mush.

Goode plays Declan as snarky and cynical but with just the right amount of warmth and vulnerability that he never seems like a jerk for all his jokes and provocations. Anna doesn’t seem used to men being playful, teasing, or questioning her choices, as unyielding as they are. For the most part, Anna is uptight, occasionally rude, and somewhat ungrateful to Declan when things don’t go her way.

But Amy Adams is, well, Amy Adams, and she is probably the sole reason why Anna had any semblance of likeability. Adams can take a character like Anna and give her enough depth to make you sympathize with her, and by the end of the movie, both she and Declan can show one another their true selves without it feeling like a complete one-eighty.

Leap Year sticks hard to the tried and true rom-com playbook, hitting on every possible trope you could imagine. Including the very familiar and comfortable scenario where our leading man and heroine have to share a bed… because of… circumstances! I recently read three rom-com novels with that very same scenario.

Now, I’ve said this before in prior reviews – I don’t mind rom-com clichés. I don’t mind tropes. In fact, a handful of them I love. But they need to be executed properly. Even better? They try to bring something fresh to the genre. But Leap Year just felt entirely uninspired for me. I might have felt differently if it had been funny, but so many moments meant to be humorous just fell flat.

Don’t get me wrong, Leap Year wasn’t a completely terrible movie. I found it watchable and romantic enough to tolerate the flaws. Honestly, it speaks to Adams and Goode’s strengths as actors that I cared about the outcome of their romance despite the tedious journey it took to get there.

Watched: 01/05/2020
Notable Song: Dream a Little Dream of Me by The Mamas and the Papas