Imagine Me & You is a wryly amusing and well written romantic comedy set in London, in which the eyes of City worker Rachel (token American actress Piper Perabo, sporting a flawless British accent) and florist Luce (Lena Headey) happen to meet across the room at a wedding, and both instantly fall in love at first sight. The only problem is that it's Rachel's wedding...
Most rom-coms would solve this little obstacle by making Rachel's husband incredibly possessive and insanely jealous, or by revealing that he's having an affair, thus giving her the moral get-out clause enabling her to leave and find happiness with Luce. However, Imagine Me & You doesn't take this easy option. Instead, Rachel's hubby Heck (Matthew Goode) is as decent, caring, and honest a man as you could hope to meet. In any other movie, he'd be the one who gets the girl in the end. He truly loves Rachel as well, and the film doesn't shy away from the reality that he's going to have his heart broken.
There are a few quibbles: Out of the various supporting characters, Luce's best mate Edie and Rachel's quietly desperate singleton friend Beth make the strongest impression, but both bizarrely vanish halfway through the movie and are never mentioned again. I would liked to have seen more of them. And disappointingly, Imagine Me & You eventually reverts to rom-com conventions as it approaches the final credits, falling back on the tired and clichéd 'race against time' scenario for it's climax. But that aside, I have no complaints.
Most rom-coms would solve this little obstacle by making Rachel's husband incredibly possessive and insanely jealous, or by revealing that he's having an affair, thus giving her the moral get-out clause enabling her to leave and find happiness with Luce. However, Imagine Me & You doesn't take this easy option. Instead, Rachel's hubby Heck (Matthew Goode) is as decent, caring, and honest a man as you could hope to meet. In any other movie, he'd be the one who gets the girl in the end. He truly loves Rachel as well, and the film doesn't shy away from the reality that he's going to have his heart broken.
There are a few quibbles: Out of the various supporting characters, Luce's best mate Edie and Rachel's quietly desperate singleton friend Beth make the strongest impression, but both bizarrely vanish halfway through the movie and are never mentioned again. I would liked to have seen more of them. And disappointingly, Imagine Me & You eventually reverts to rom-com conventions as it approaches the final credits, falling back on the tired and clichéd 'race against time' scenario for it's climax. But that aside, I have no complaints.