“Leap Year” is an entertaining romantic comedy originally released in 2010. It stars Amy Adams as Anna, a woman who lives her life by a rigid schedule and is frustrated with her long-term boyfriend, Jeremy, for not asking her to marry him yet. When Jeremy has to attend a cardiology conference in Ireland, Anna conspires to meet him there to take advantage of a long-held (and true) Irish tradition where women ask their man for their hand in marriage on February 29.
Anna’s spontaneous trip becomes a horrendous (albeit it hilarious) adventure filled with several unfortunate twists and turns after a massive storm diverts her plane from Dublin (where Jeremy is staying at the conference). She winds up in Dingle, a tiny coastal town in southwestern Ireland. Stranded with few prospects of reliable transportation, she winds up enlisting the help of a local pub owner who agrees to drive her to Dublin. Declan, the pub owner, has his own motives for agreeing to this little adventure which become evident as the tale progresses. His story is complicated by a difficult romantic past that has jaded him against the romantics of the world like Anna. Needless to say their conflicting viewpoints on love and romance are a frequent source of friction on their long journey.
This is an otherwise spoiler-free review, but suffice it to say that is a classic hate-at-first-sight movie. Overall it’s a pleasant romantic comedy filled with images of the gorgeous Irish countryside. The cinematography of this particular film is a breathtaking advertisement for Irish tourism. If you like romantic comedies, you’ll like this movie.
Amy Adams shows off her quiet, sincere vulnerability in this film (one of her best qualities), and Matthew Goode plays a convincing surly Irishman. Goode is pretty much an unknown to America, having participated in mostly English productions. His chemistry with Adams is palpable, and (besides the beautiful scenery) is the best part of the film. John Lithgow also makes an appearance as the highly unreliable father of Anna.
