They say that the best relationships involve two people who are friends as well as lovers. After all, you want to be able to hold a conversation together and should have some common interests right? Well that’s where things start to get rocky here because it just doesn’t feel like these two would be friends, let alone be married. There is basically nonstop drama here with both characters going quite far to the point where you can’t picture things going well. They’re just way too sensitive.

The film starts off with Annie and Carl messing around under the stairs where they are caught by her folks. They decide to quickly get married and dash off but things will not be easy. Carl isn’t financially sound quite yet and is having to work multiple jobs here in addition to his studies. They have a nice place to live but are very low on spending money. Meanwhile Annie wants to do her best to be a good wife but can be a bit naive and also succumbs to peer pressure like wanting to fit in and wear nice things. Soon the tension starts to climb up and the two characters will have to find a way to make things work.

Now when you’re broke and in a relationship, it’s only going to work if both people know what they’re getting into and are fine with it. The problem is that often they will say that they are okay and won’t actually feel that way. A good example is when Annie gets Carl a gift but he doesn’t have one for her. He even says that they talked about it and she admits that she lied about not needing a present. Definitely a bad look on her part there because that was the arrangement. Then there’s another instance where she spends money on a new outfit when it could have been put to use on more practical things. On the other hand Carl takes a job where he will be away all nights so now Annie will be by herself. Yeah it helps with the money but that’s another case where it’s better to be broke.

On the whole I was typically more on Carl’s side than Annie’s but they both made their share of mistakes. I’d say the problem is that most of their issues felt like things they should have discussed prior or could have discussed in the moment without it becoming such a big deal. Annie became friends with a local flower guy for example and Carl was super jealous so he would cause a scene right away. Causing a scene there wasn’t cool but he absolutely would have had a valid case for explaining to her afterwards that this friendship was trouble.

I’m not going for the Hollywood approach that guys and girls cannot be friends because that’s crazy but it was clear that she was being naive about the whole thing. She would let him get way too close like taking her shoes off and basically giving her a massage while they talked. Cmon now, that is an accident waiting to happen. So Carl has every right to be worried when she is acting like that but again, talking would have been a good first step here. Then Annie is dealing with a lot of trauma due to some rough events from her past and they come up on several occasions as she feels like she basically can’t be with Carl at times.

It comes and goes and it can be hard to predict when this will happen which is the roughest part for Carl. There’s no easy way to get past that but it would definitely continue to be a huge stumbling block in their marriage until it can be figured out. There are just so many problems they have throughout the film and by the end it really feels like they went past the point of no return. If anything the ending just tells you that things are going to get a whole lot worse because throwing another life into the equation is often just going to expand the range of issues.

The core problem for both characters is that they are way too emotional. Again, Carl isn’t quite as bad about this but he still does have the problem. Until they can properly talk like grown ups, the issues are only going to keep on coming. The parents get a sudden 180 character shift for the ending to give the appearance that things will go well but I get the feeling that will change again before long. They did not seem like the nicest of people on either side and that doesn’t tend to change.

At the end of the day, a big problem for the film is that because of all these elements, it’s just not a very fun title. For the most part it’s dramatic in a sad way where there isn’t going to be much of a happy ending over the horizon. The film’s tone just doesn’t seem to match the actual ending. It felt like the couple’s futile attempts at having a happy ending and for this kind of film to work it definitely needed them to reconcile a whole lot sooner. They’re at odds for almost 80% of the film I would say and only get a quick happy ending in the last minutes. Not sure how I feel about the flower guy being around as well. Yes in the end he turned out to not be a bad guy and we the audience know it, but Carl doesn’t. The film would have needed some scenes to show them becoming friends first. In a way that circles back to the earlier point which is that the film is too dreary. So scenes like this could have absolutely helped to fix that.

The writing is good enough and on the whole it’s not like this is a super hardcore dark film. It just feels like the film mistimed itself on the pacing. Maybe there should have been more time at the school. Cut out the plot about the heroine working for the rich folks with all of their moral bankruptcy struggles. You don’t really need that and the whole speech she gave about how sometimes people do bad things because they have a reason was a full miss for me. We don’t need those weak justifications. So skip that and use the extra time for some positive messages.

Overall, This film shows off the importance of not rushing into anything. Dating and courtships are around for a reason and that’s so you can get to know the other person first. Marriage can run purely on love but it’s not always going to lead to a happy outcome. By getting to know the other person for a while, you can at least make sure you have common ground on the things that matter. A film like this can try to show off a happy ending but with what went on during this adventure, most times it would not end up going quite so well. So that’s really something to keep in mind here. I’d definitely recommend watching something a bit lighter toned like Jingle All The Way.

Overall 3/10