By: debbie lynn elias
Hopefully, you haven’t tired of Channing Tatum yet because he’s back, heading up his fifth film of the year. Just shy of racking up $500 million in box office receipts since January, this time Tatum joins forces with the “It Girl” of the moment Ari Graynor, plus Rosario Dawson, Chris Pratt, Justin Long, Anthony Mackie, real-life wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum, along with Oscar Isaac and Kate Mara, the latter two who turn in A+ performances, in the fondly nostalgic and fun high school reunion, 10 YEARS!
It’s been 10 YEARS since high school graduation and the old gang gets back together for their 10 year reunion. Disillusioned with how life – their lives – has turned out, friends, enemies and frenemies find common ground to drink, relive the golden moments of days gone by, laugh, cry, drink, reminisce, drink some more, and learn truths about themselves and each other that were once masked by the rose-colored glasses of youth.
The cast is likeable beyond likeable and talented beyond talented as each embodies much of the image the public already has of them in real life. As Jake, Channing Tatum puts on screen the love and adoration he has for his real-life wife, Jenna Dewan Tatum, who plays his long devoted girlfriend, Jess. Despite his great love for Jess, Jake just hasn’t been able to make the leap or take the plunge into engagement or marriage. Something keeps nagging at him; something that he needs to resolve before a commitment like marriage. Surprising is the total lack of romantic chemistry between Tatum and Dewan-Tatum. More like BFFs than husband and wife, this was a real shock and it makes one wonder if they worked at hard at restraining themselves. However, Tatum never hides, can’t hide, his puppy dog fawning love for Jenna as it shines through in his eyes.
On the flip side, we have Rosario Dawson as the once love of Jake’s life, Mary. The chemistry between Tatum and Dawson is palpable and believable. They make a very “complete” couple and have you wondering throughout the movie (until revealed) what happened to these two since graduation. So strong is their connection, that definite and different audience allegiances develop during the course of the reunion.
Chris Pratt does what he does best – be funny. As one of Jake’s best buddies, Cully, Pratt excels at being the one-time bully trying to atone and make amends for his once bad behavior. Only problem is that Cully’s intended sincerity takes on comedic tones as his apologies and fawning are done under the influence…a lot of alcohol. A real treat and surprise is Ari Graynor. The current “It Girl” with her patented comedic perfection on display in Celeste and Jesse Forever and the hysterically winning For A Good Time, Call…, she does a 180 here. As Cully’s wife, Sam, gone is the funny woman we know so well and we meet a Graynor presenting as a mature responsible wife and mother which only serves to tell me that we should be seeing more adult roles, more dramatic roles, from her in the future. She is as adept at being serious as she is at being funny and thanks to her comedy chops and timing, makes a perfect foil for Pratt.
A really fun pairing are longtime rivals, Marty and AJ, who have spent their lives constantly trying to one up the other, gamesmanship that continues reunion night. Played by Justin Long and Max Minghella, respectively, these two are impishly cute, and nevermore so than when trying to impress the once coolest girl in the class, albeit by tailing her home and toilet papering the trees in her front yard. Long and Minghella exemplify the fun of “boys being boys.”
But the real winners in 10 YEARS are Oscar Isaac and Kate Mara. As rock star Reeves and Elise, the girl he was too shy to talk to in school but who is the inspiration for his greatest hit, they soar. These are the two characters and the couple in which you really become invested. Absolutely love them together. So charismatic and electrifying, I can’t wait to see them work together on another project. Each generates interest in the individual character with nuanced subtleties of facial and physical expressiveness and when joined in the more intimate sit downs in the after-reunion-bar blossom into truly beautiful moments of “young love”. Isaac and Mara are the #1 reason to see 10 YEARS.
The rest of the name case all do what they do best and add their own personas and known character personas to their individual performances, e.g., Aubrey Plaza’s delicious droll deadpan. The one drawback, however is that this is such a large ensemble, and such a talented cast, that many of the performances don’t get the attention they deserve, leaving me with a sadness that some good actors were very under-used, like Anthony Mackie, although I am thrilled to see The Hurt Locker boys of Mackie and Brian Geraghty reunite in this film. And I gotta tell you, when those two reconnect on screen, you immediately feel that comarderie they had in The Hurt Locker and they genuinely feel like old buddies meeting up again for the first time in years. Those two really make you smile.
Making his directorial debut is screenwriter Jamie Linden, who also pens this fun and entertaining trip down memory lane. Although there are no car chases or explosions, no action sequences, no horror, no blood and guts (although there is some puking), no hard pressing questions to ponder, we meet people like many each of us knows or has known, giving us as the audience our own 90 minutes of reflection. Credit for the casual ease and familiarity of the various characters and storylines goes to Linden’s collaborative style of creating the characters with the actors themselves after casting actors he and the senior filmmaking team wanted to work with. Perfect example is Tatum and Mackie who, when they get together in real life, behave the same as we see them on screen. Linden also provides an interesting tacit commentary on society and generational changes and gender viewpoints on responsibility over the decades.
A real testament to both the writing and directing abilities of Jamie Linden is the fact that with all the characters and the various multiple storylines, none of the storylines ever get lost in the shuffle. We easily keep track of them all and are never wondering, “Huh? What?” Linden succeeds where Garry Marshall failed with New Year’s Eve and in some respects, Valentine’s Day, which became so convoluted that at times you needed a GPS to navigate through the story. As with Linden’s acclaimed We Are Marshall, he keeps the audience engaged and the film easily on track without anyone on or off screen getting lost.
From the production design viewpoint, the reunion scenes have a very very lo budget-no budget feel to them which is quite in keeping with real reunions in Averagetown, USA, going miles in adding to the reality of the film, making it resonate even deeper.
If there is a cautionary tale to be viewed in 10 YEARS, it comes with Chris Pratt’s Cully: don’t be a butthead in high school because you will live to regret it, and once you realize your mistakes, you may still not be able to atone for your youthful stupidity – especially if you’re nervous and drunk.
Save the time and expense of going to your own reunion. 10 YEARS covers it all…and it’s a lot more fun.
CAST: Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Rosarios Dawson, Justin Long, Max Minghella, Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Oscar Isaac, Kate Mara, Aubrey Plaza, Lynn Collins, Ron Livingston, Scott Porter
WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Jamie Linden.
