Stuck in Love (2012)
(On TV, October 2016) I’m an easy mark for movies about writers, and Stuck in Love does revolve around a broken family where both the father and his two children are writers. Of course, it’s not primarily about writing as much as it’s a romantic comedy about a man pining away for his separated wife, his kids urging him to move on, and assorted hijinks once the kids get into their own romantic entanglements. It ends on a number of happy notes, as it should. Greg Kinnear is OK as the main character, but Lily Collins has the most to do as his daughter. As far as romantic comedies go, Stuck in Love is passable—the script doesn’t offer any particularly strong or funny moments, but the film plows forward to its conclusion without too many problems along the way. It does have its share of unrealistic moments, but those get shoved under the “romantic comedy, don’t ask too many questions” sign. The addition of material about writers is just about the only thing making the film feel different, and it culminates with a voice cameo by Stephen King. Stuck in Love will fill an evening, if that’s the kind of film you’re looking for.