8.0 stars.
Ben (Paevey) had a very damaging breakup many years ago, and his sister had one recently. She brings him to a boot camp for people dealing with bad breakups. Miranda (Ricci) is a psychologist who runs the bootcamp and she also has baggage from a very injurious breakup of her own. Ben is secretly writing an article about this program, trying to find any loopholes, or dirty secrets about it. Ben and Miranda fall in love over time, but there are some ups and downs along the way, especially when Ben's secret is revealed.
I will start my tirade by saying that Ben is a first class jerk in this film. I suppose since every woman in the world wants to marry Paevey, his on screen character only appears to be cute and funny, rather than the true rascal he represents. But don't deny it, he is very much a tool. There are at least a half dozen times where his behavior is a red flag waving in our faces - bully alert, bully alert. The first time is when he is insulting Miranda (Ricci) outside of her own class. He feels the class is basically a joke, a waste of time. We understand that he doesn't realize who she is at that moment, but any person that would show such utter disrespect for a program with the aim of encouraging and helping people who are in emotional pain and sometimes bondage due to bad breakups...
When they are growing closer and you can see the relationship is getting more serious, even though she is still hesitant due to her own history of inability to adapt and move on, he is a very kind, patient, and humble guy. He adores her, and she is softening more and more, his gestures are helping her to be strong again, and yet there is a strange dichotomy in him as he is scheming behind her back. He is writing this story, not telling her of his plan to expose her for the fraud that he and his boss think that she is...there is some real treachery happening and his character is no doubt a commentary on the true nature a hypocritical reprobate. I had a hard time getting past those obvious flaws in this "nice" guys personality...
He comes around eventually, makes up for it with a glowing article which serves to praise and elevate Miranda rather than drag her through the mud. She forgives him quickly. It's a happy ending, but in real life this sort of behavior might cause irreparable damage. Let's not flirt with people's psychological well being next time. A woman in the real world would likely be permanently damaged by this level of betrayal. I shook my head in disgust, after watching him help her through a scary situation, and she shares her deep feelings with him, she became so vulnerable, and he told her it's okay, you can trust me...
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