Rated PG-13, 96 minutes
Irons the best part of the sensitive but muddled "Words"
"The Words" has a lot to say, about life, romance, writing, identity and more, so much in fact that it attempts to tell it over several different storylines. The premise is interesting and the handsome cast has a few engaging moments, but the story-within-a-story-within-a-story becomes too confusing over the course of the film and some parts of it are too implausible to buy into. The film's high-profile, glossy cast includes Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, Olivia Wilde and Dennis Quaid, though the most memorable is the commanding presence of Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons. The Words tells the story of author Clay Hammond (Quaid), reading his new book called The Words, which is about Rory Jensen (Cooper), who becomes popular after taking credit for publishing someone else's story. "The Words" is an enjoyable film with plenty of entertaining moments that's hampered by a muddled, thin storyline, especially the weak Quaid sequences that bookend the film. The movie works best when Irons, in a supporting part as The Old Man who is responsible for the story, is on screen, and his backstory is the most affecting and least calculated of the plot. Irons remains a warm but strong presence who overtakes the film from the bland Cooper and Quaid. Yet the most annoying part of "The Words" isn't necessarily the many storylines but the heavy-handed, unnecessary voice-over narration that only shows the script's weaknesses and becomes even a little self-mocking at times. "The Words" is an entertaining film in the vein of female flicks like "Message in a Bottle" and "The Notebook"; just because it's warm and fuzzy doesn't mean it's a great film.
Good review Wes. Could have had more suspense and tension to the whole story, but had some nice dramatic moments to hold onto here and there. But still, could have done more with its neat premise.
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