Film Review: Vince Vaughn, Kevin James Seek Trust in ‘The Dilemma’

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CHICAGO – In many ways, “The Dilemma” is director Ron Howard’s most daring film. Leaving behind the usual brightly lit, good/evil morality tales, Howard weaves a narrative basket filled with infidelity, gambling addiction, blackmail and mistrust. This is Opie on the dark side, with Vince Vaughn and Kevin James along for the journey.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

But The Dilemma, marketed as a comedy, has some problems. It is episodic, and the whole doesn’t equal the sum of its parts. The sequences live and die under Vaughn’s interaction with them, which results in a quest of bizarre and improbable circumstances. The story flow never gets a rhythm, and is plagued also with a deadly serious nature that doesn’t mine any laughs.

Vaughn is Ronny, a marketing guru for an auto design company that includes his best friend Nick (Kevin James). Nick is married to Geneva (Winona Ryder), and Ronny is currently dating Beth (Jennifer Connelly), who he met through Nick and Geneva. The couples are bonding as best friends, and Ronny is seriously considering asking Beth to marry him, despite past discretions as a gambling addict.

This happy world is turned upside down by an accidental encounter. While scoping out a proper proposal site, Ronny spies Geneva in the arms of another man (Channing Tatum). Ronny doesn’t quite know what to do with this information, as the timing comes just as he and Nick are working on a make-or-break design for a major car company. Nick is the nervous type, and Ronny feels that the project will be in danger if he passes along the news that Geneva is cheating.

Becoming obsessed with the situation, Ronny decides to take matters into his own hands, and confronts Geneva with his knowledge. In a turnabout, Geneva comes right back at him with a threat of exposing some damaging news about their past. The uncomfortable dilemma has now become even more desperate, as Ronny wrestles with what to do.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Dilemma”

Couples Therapy: Winona Ryder (Geneva), Jennifer Connelly (Beth), Vince Vaughn (Ronny) and Kevin James (Nick) in ‘The Dilemma’ Photo Credit: © Universal Pictures

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Dilemma”