February seems to always bring about the inevitable love barometer. Either people are reveling in the happiness of coupledom or they are brooding around wondering if their status as a love pariah will ever be changed. Enter Hollywood.
Benefiting from the onslaught of Valentine’s Day, the movie industry is providing the world with a plethora of lovey-dovey films to ensure that we don’t forget our love status; whether sickeningly sweet or pitifully pathetic.
The premise of one of these love-devoted films, “Head Over Heels” provides a character in Amanda (Monica Potter) that most women can relate to. Amanda is content as an art restorer in New York City, until she goes home to discover that her boyfriend is having an affair, in their bed of course. Sound familiar? Yes, but that’s where the generic, jilted-woman plot stops and the fun begins.
Where women can relate is in Amanda’s personality. She is the classic imperfect woman. One in which fumbles words, trips over her own feet and generally has a tendency to make a complete fool of herself. Monica Potter (“Patch Adams,” “Without Limits”) sinks her teeth into physical comedy as she plays the accident-prone Amanda beautifully. Potter has a sort of sweet vulnerability that is reflected in her performance making it endearing and sweet to watch.
Amanda smartly leaves her boyfriend and goes in search of a new apartment. Finding an ad that boasts a $500 rent in the lavish East Side, she jumps at the chance. Soon the adorably flawed Amanda is moving in with four annoyingly flawless supermodels.
Thrown into a life completely foreign to her, Amanda nevertheless blends famously in with the quartet. They take her under their wings and show her the intricate way of finding the perfect dress and making sure you never pay for anything so long as you have a following of drooling men.
The models are portrayed by real-life models Shalom Harlow, Ivana Milicevic, Sarah O’Hare and Tomiko Fraser. They all play their parts to perfection, showing a real flair as actresses. Their comedic timing and realistic performances are an integral part of the film.
Amanda and her new roomies build a fast camaraderie. One of their favorite activities is spying on their gorgeous neighbor, Jim Winston (Freddie Prinze Jr.) from the perfect vantage point, their living room window. Many bowls of popcorn are popped as the five bring out the binoculars and plop on the couch for multiple evenings of voyeuristic pleasure.
Amanda keeps inadvertently bumping into Jim until the two finally decide to “meet on purpose” and set a date. Unfortunately for Amanda, during their nightly ritual of Jim gazing, they observe what looks to be Jim brutally murdering a woman.
What ensues next is an hour of the girls traipsing about town as if psuedo-Nancy Drews, trying to discover the truth behind what they saw. Slapstick humor, gross-out tactics and genuine laughs accompany their road to a very surprising discovery.
Freddie Prinze Jr. is his typical charming, teen-dream self as seen in such films as “She’s All That” and “Boys and Girls.” He takes no chances on expanding his acting horizons as he sticks with the dimpled smile that has brought him such recent fame.
The film is saved from silly love story obscurity by Monica Potter and her entourage of models, with help from an amusing, semi-original script. While no film for the record books, it is a entertaining little Valentine treat for happy couples and love pariahs alike.
