Adam turns love into sisterly affair
by Julia Mims, reporter

    There is definitely something about Adam.

    About Adam, takes a different look at love and compares it to the sensation a person gets after spinning around in circles for a long time.

    In a recent interview, Gerard Stembridge, director, said his movie is an alternative to conventional romantic comedies. Recognizing how formulaic these films have become, he wanted to create a new perception of love.

    If the perception is “do whatever makes you happy, regardless of whom you hurt,” then he succeeds.

    About Adam focuses on three sisters and their different views on love.

    Kate Hudson plays Lucy, the youngest sister, who has a different guy each week. Lucy is a social person who will not settle for anyone boring.

    She works in a stylish uptown Dublin bar as a waitress who occasionally, at the request of the bar patrons, gets up on stage to sing. Hudson does all of her own singing.

    Lucy is the first to meet Adam, played by Stuart Townsend. He seems to be what women want, at least what these three sisters want.

    On one of those singing nights, Lucy spots Adam from the stage and is instantly interested.

    He is noticeably interested also but tries to hide behind his menu.
Thinking he is too shy, Lucy asks him out while taking his order.

    Laura, played by Frances O’Connor, is the middle sister. An avid book reader, she is just waiting for a passionate romance to co

me along.
    Charlotte Bradley plays Alice, the oldest sister, who is looking for an escape from her suburban dream that has become suffocating.

    Of course Adam, being the thoughtful guy he is, wants everyone to be happy—a desire that extends to all three sisters. He wants to give people what they want, so he decides to help each sister obtain her wish. This attempt becomes too much of a family thing.

    Adam has a magical aura about him that the family finds irresistible, but the audience wonders why.

    Adam has many tricks up his sleeves, but viewers will catch him in his lies.

    None of this seems to matter to the sisters because he fulfills their fantasies. This plot line gives the film a very empty quality as though there is no family at all.

    The film has a good cast, but the story feels too empty to carry the talent. The characters remain one-dimensional.

    Instead of transitions between scenes, About Adam has a pause in which a thought of one character sets up the theme for the next scene. This ploy becomes annoying because the movie begins to have a choppy feeling to it.

    Jarringly, the movie revolves around a certain scene that is replayed at least four different times to show how each main character meets Adam. Instead of being drawn into the story, viewers become tired of seeing the same scene over and over again.
This technique is great if there is a key to uncover, but in About Adam the audience knows what is coming next after the first two replays.

    The movie seems to constantly revolve without pulling together. About Adam becomes a guessing game of who will sleep with Adam next. Coming out of the theater, viewers will feel dizzy.