Watermelon (2003) Movie Review

Watermelon (2003)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Anna Friel in Watermelon (2003)

Baby Daddy

Claire Ryan (Anna Friel) heads to London with her boyfriend Adam (Ciarán McMenamin) as soon as they graduate from university in Dublin with Claire having told him a little lie about already having a job when in fact it was just an interview for a job. When things don't work out not only does Adam head back to Dublin but Claire ends up hooking up with James (Jamie Draven) one of the interviewers. Things get complicated when Claire discovers she is pregnant James leaves her as the baby may have been Adams. Left a single mum Claire ends up heading back to Dublin to try and make amends with her father, not easy when James shows up looking to get back with her.

"Watermelon" wants to be one of those trendy romantic comedies with sharp characters who suddenly break the fourth wall to tell you what their character is really thinking, dragging you in to being part of the story. Unfortunately it doesn't really work that well because this is a movie which for the moment seems constantly in a rush and intent on being snappy. And there is a knock on effect of trying to be snappy and fast paced, when it suddenly slows down to try and delve into the emotional turmoil of both Claire and James it fails because we never build up that sort of relationship to them. It is why it keeps on using more comedy, such as lactating boobs to try and entertain.

And do you know what, it is actually a little annoying as some of the dramatic twists in the storyline are not bad and the calibre of the cast certainly could have delivered the emotional depth of the characters. But that harsh, snappy build up robs the movie of that depth and in turn robs the actors of that opportunity.

What this all boils down to is that "Watermelon" ends up a movie with a good story but that story ends up struggling to really emerge due to attempts to make it snappy and trendy during the build up.


LATEST REVIEWS