Bless the people who can get through Labor Day
without cracking up a few times, for they are made of stronger stuff
than I. This story of Adele (Kate Winslet), a helpless, sex-starved
single mother (for reals) who gets quasi-kidnapped by rugged escaped con
Frank (Josh Brolin) and ultimately falls in love with him, is so silly,
so retro in its values, so preposterous from beginning to end, it plays
like a parody of a 1950s melodrama.
The film is narrated
(tremulously, of course) by Tobey Maguire as the grownup version of
Adele’s 13-year-old son Henry (Gattlin Grifflith), so if there was
concern that Henry and his mom are in real danger and might not make it
out of this ordeal alive, that’s pretty much dispelled.
But how
could anyone see Frank as a threat? He’s the most hilariously idealized
male I’ve ever seen in a film. The first day he kidnaps Adele and Henry,
he changes the oil in their car, fixes the furnace, teaches Henry how
to throw like a boy, inspects Adele’s firewood (she’s been
over-charged), and whips up a batch of chili (that he hand feeds to
Adele, as she’s tied up in a chair to make the kidnapping look more
legit in the eyes of the authorities). Later, he fixes squeaky door
hinges, takes off his shirt to reveal rippling biceps, dances the rumba
with Adele, and gives mother and son a lesson in how to (sensually) bake
a peach pie. All the while, young Henry is torn between loving his new
father figure and being overcome with Oedipal rage (the film literally
cuts to Henry glowering jealously every time Frank touches Adele).
What
to make of all this? I frankly don’t know. Everyone involved is
talented—from Winslet, who is one of my all-time favorite actresses, to
Brolin, who is the rare American actor who can project masculine
strength and decency (lately we’ve been outsourcing that role to
Australians). Director Jason Reitman has made three films I love (Juno, Up in the Air, and Young Adult), although there’s a secret conservatism lurking at the edges of those films that he really doubles down on here.
The
film is certainly well acted and directed, for what it’s worth. I guess
I’m just going to have to give these guys a mulligan. Whatever they
were going for, they didn’t achieve. Unless they were trying to give me a
few good sneaky laughs behind my hands. In which case, well played.