# What I Like About You (1999)

### reviewed by
Christopher Null

                             WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU
                        A film review by Christopher Null
                          Copyright 2000 filmcritic.com
                                 filmcritic.com

Independent romantic comedy is often a sketchy proposition. The money put into the production -- hiring great actors, getting enough takes to catch the nuance of every joke, and having top-notch editing -- invariably makes a big impact on the end result of the picture. And the indies don't have money.

Which isn't to say that having no money means you have no hope. CLERKS and THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN are probably the two best examples of no-budget comedies that were smashing successes. WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU is a far cry from either of these films, but it's a really good try. There's a whole lot of heart in this picture, and everyone in the production puts on a good face. Unfortunately, as a whole, the movie feels a bit derivative, moderately contrived, and ultimately simplistic -- while still being a reasonably good time.

WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU is at heart a good-old love triangle. Ollie (Marie Black) runs a quaint bookstore with her rich fiancée Michael (Ben Pascoe). Michael decides he wants to sell the store to a mall developer (and big chain Book City), *plus* he is having an affair, thus doubly crushing poor Ollie's spirit. Enter Adam (Ryan Wickerham), the nutty traffic reporter at the local radio station. When their paths cross, Ollie and Adam first hate each other, but soon enough they fall in love and save the bookstore in the process. Birds sing. Sun shines. If only life were this wonderful!

Wickerham is the real star of this movie -- his kinetic frenzy invokes a young Jim Carrey, especially when he is given wide leeway to ham it up. Black is less charming in her star turn, coming off as generally cold and often stilted in her line delivery. Supporting characters like the "Unabomber Wannabe," "Accent Man," and "Joe Buck" (the radio station owner) lend a lot of life to what could have been dull exposition, and the film blossoms thanks to these little details.

As a comedy, WHAT I LIKE ABOUT YOU hits and misses. Fortunately, it hits slightly more often than not, and any fan of the indie scene will find this a worthy diversion.

    RATING:  ***

    |------------------------------|
     \ ***** Perfection             \
      \ **** Good, memorable film    \
       \ *** Average, hits and misses \
        \ ** Sub-par on many levels    \
         \ * Unquestionably awful       \
          |------------------------------|

    MPAA Rating: NR

Director: Jeff Stolhand Producer: Tony Hewett Writer: Marie Black, Scott von Doviak Starring: Marie Black, Ryan Wickerham, Cameron Johnson, Ben Pascoe

http://www.whatilikeaboutyou.com/

--- Christopher Null - null@filmcritic.com - http://www.filmcritic.com

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