Love the Coopers is as problematic as its title. Does it mean love from the Coopers or is it a statement that someone loves the Coopers (perhaps its narrator — we’ll get to that a moment), or perhaps something else? Unlike its title, the message here is painfully simple. Here’s a film that’s so sincere it forgets to spice things up a bit. Told though a narrator who spells it all out without any wit or commentary (we later find out why this narrator, voiced by Steve Martin, is all knowing and God-like), we’re introduced to a wide ensemble spanning four generations in suburban Pittsburgh.
They include John Goodman and Diane Keaton as Sam and Charlotte Cooper, respectively. Their marriage is falling apart for multiple reasons, ranging from past tragedy to their current emotional isolation from each other. Their psychological games aren’t quite as cruel as those in Le Weekend, however, because they have a family to put a happy face on for. Their children are problematically unaffected by the past tragedy referenced passingly as they have their own adult lives to deal with. They include Ed Helms as Hank, an unemployed department store photographer going through a divorce, Ruby (Amanda Seyfried), a waitress who wants nothing to do with the family, and Eleanor (Olivia Wilde), a writer whose currently dating a married man.
As if this wasn’t enough, the film layers on characters that feel unnecessary, including Marisa Tomei as Charlotte’s sister, a shoplifter who spends the day with a gay cop (Anthony Mackie). She’s a life coach but beyond getting him to come out, she can’t get him to engage with her on a meaningful or even interesting level. Why these scenes and perhaps these characters weren’t left on the cutting room floor is beyond me.
Alan Arkin plays Bucky, a sympathetic high school teacher who mentors Ruby, developing a crush that he realizes he’s too old to act on, and one inspired quite obviously by Chaplin and City Lights (we know this because our faithful narrator tells us). Throw in Jake Lacy as Joe; currently serving in the armed forces, he’s invited by Eleanor to pretend they’re in engaged and a cute side story about Hank’s son. With all of these strands, the hope is that clearer one of them will work. Joe and Eleanor do have some interesting scenes together and the film probes a kind of liberal / conservative divide that’s pretty interesting — if only it had the wits of a screenwriter trying to truly push the envelope.
Love The Coopers plays it mostly safe, despite some moments of darkness and promise. The comedy never quite succeeds over the drama and while the characters have some real, human flaws, director Jessie Nelson can’t quite cobble together a coherent film from Steve Rogers’ messy script. Perhaps it’s more or less suited for the stage with a great deal of dialogue and narration that shows rather than tells (a failing grade in any college screenwriting class). It may take more risks than your standard Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, but for a holiday film, there’s such little faith placed in our characters to live and breath.
Love The Coopers is now playing in wide release.