Finding You

Finding You is a teen romantic comedy that is as gentle and bland as it can be.  It's about a young woman who spends some time in Ireland in order to find herself, and also winds up finding love with a handsome young movie star, gets some life advice from the village drunk (who is the most kindly and grandfatherly village drunk ever captured on film), helps heal the heart of a crabby old lady in a nursing home, and even finds time to solve a mystery left behind by her dead older brother, who also visited Ireland when he was her age.

This is a movie filled with bubbly, inspiring pop songs on the soundtrack, and equally bubbly characters who are bright and sunny, but never seem to have much on their minds.  But then, nobody needs to think in this movie.  I've been able to enjoy movies like this in the past, as long as I can sense some wit in the screenplay, or maybe if it throws in an interesting character or two.  This time, I did not pick up on much.  The best part about the film is the Irish scenery, which is shot beautifully, and I'm sure will inspire some vacation plans.  Outside of that, I couldn't really find any characters or plots that engaged me, aside from the mean old lady at the nursing home, who is played by Vanessa Redgrave, and is obviously not as mean as she initially appears.  Her plot revolving around a decades-long feud with her sister is more interesting than the main plot, and I often found myself wishing I was watching a movie about her story.

Instead, the story here is about Finley Sinclair (Rose Reid), an aspiring violin player who does not get accepted to a prestigious New York music school as the film opens.  She has another chance to audition in the Fall, but before that, she decides to clear her head and maybe find herself by taking a 4-month semester abroad in Ireland, like her late brother Alex did once.  On the plane, she's bumped up to First Class, where she finds herself seated next to young movie star Beckett Rush (Jedidiah Goodacre), who has been acting in films since he was seven, and is now starring in a series of Game of Thrones-inspired fantasy films, which has made him the idol of teen girls the world over.  Finley is not impressed with him, and they banter for a good part of the flight.  They part ways, and she's sure she'll never see him again.

In what will be a surprise to no one, it turns out that Beckett is staying at the same bed and breakfast that Finley's host family runs while he is shooting his latest film.  They have many encounters together, with her first volunteering to help him run lines for the movie, and then spending time together as they tour the local village, and meet its wealth of colorful characters.  All the while, there's only two scenes where Finley is ever seen in a classroom, and both are brief.  As for Beckett, he has to deal with the tabloids trying to scoop about his forced relationship with his co-star Taylor (Katherine McNamara), as well as with his slimy dad (Tom Everett Scott), who is also his manager, and is trying to manipulate his son into agreeing to a long-term contract for a series of spin off films.  Naturally, Finley will slowly realize that there's more to Beckett than what the tabloids portray, and they will fall for each other.

This idea of an average person falling in love with a Hollywood celebrity, and the pressures of family and fame that it presented, was done much better in 1999's Notting Hill.  That was probably as light and fluffy as this movie is, but it also had the advantage of being written by Richard Curtis, one of the funnier romantic comedy writers out there.  Finding You, in comparison, is obviously pleasant, but it simply never engages.  As I watched the young couple fall in love and interact with a lot of the locals, I found myself largely disinterested.  Nobody gets to say or do anything all that interesting here, and the relationship between the lovers is as squeaky clean as can be.  They kiss maybe once, and their first date involves them goofing around with the stunt harness on the set of Beckett's movie.  Everyone is completely clean cut and nice, even the town drunk Seamus (Patrick Bergin), who is often seen sleeping on benches on the street, but is always sober enough to advise Finley on her music career, and where she should go in her life.

There are a lot of subplots thrown in here, many surrounding Finley's host family in Ireland.  The parents, Nora and Sean (Fiona Bell and Ciaran McMahon), run the bed and breakfast and are trying to keep it a secret that the major movie star is staying there with them, while their teen daughter Emma (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) wants to be asked to a big upcoming dance.  There's also the secret behind a drawing that Finley's brother drew while he was in Ireland years ago, left behind for her to discover, and what it could possibly mean.  Then there are the catty girls who are jealous of Beckett and Finley's budding relationship, and try to put a stop to it.  Again the only subplot that held my attention was the one surrounding Redgrave's character.  Not only does she give the best performance in the film, but her plot revolving around her trying to reconnect with her estranged sister Fiona (Helen Roche) is more heartfelt than anything else that happens here.

This is a movie that only wants to please.  I get that.  But, even films as light as this need to be engaging on some level.  Finding You has some lovely scenery, but is total cotton candy for the brain, and has no nutritional value whatsoever.  I know I was supposed to feel happy when it reached its end, but I just kind of felt empty. 

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