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MOVIE:
Walking on Sunshine
OUR RATING:
1/5 Stars
WHAT IT'S ABOUT:
After a whirlwind romance, Maddie, fresh from a long-term relationship, is preparing to marry gorgeous Raf, and has invited her sister, Taylor, to the wedding in Italy. What Maddie doesn't know, however, is that Raf is a former holiday flame of Taylor’s, and Taylor thinks Raf is the love of her life. That’s just one of the setbacks on the road to happy ever after!
WHAT WE THOUGHT:
I am not always a fan of soppy romances, but I do love a good musical. I went in to watch Walking on Sunshine with optimism, thinking it’ll be similar to previously released Scottish musical Sunshine on Leith. But this Sunshine is not the one you bask your bronze tanned body in. This is the kind of Sunshine you hide under the umbrella from, hoping the few minutes you spent in it hasn’t left you with a crispy burnt hue.
Dousing itself in unoriginality, Taylor heads to Italy to meet up with her sister, who in a whirlwind of romance got herself engaged. In true soapie style, the intended groom turns out to be Taylor’s old summer romance and apparently love of her life and they try to hide it from her sister. Apparently social media does not exist in this fantasy world.
You would think although the plot points are predictable and soppy to the bone, you at least expect some cool tunes as people sing and dance in the streets. Alas, this was not to be had, as the leads sound like high school recitals and CAN’T EVEN DANCE. The more they go through the motions, the more you cringe deeper into your seat. The worst part is that the film was the acting debut of singer-songwriter Leona Lewis. Why she wasn’t the lead and got regaled to summer-friend-from-long-ago I do not know, but her as the lead torn between sister and true love would have made the plot at least a bit more bearable with actual decent singing.
Not only was the musical aspects deplorable and the fact that there are better 80s song choices out there, the acting managed to dig that hole all the way to the other side of the world. You’d expect this kind of drivel from the B-list world of Hollywood, but the Brits had outshone in this one. Overacting, the emotional depth of Charlie Sheen and general mediocrity just highlighted the stupidity of the script. Mamma Mia! might have been soppy and unrealistic, but at least it astounding acting.
The only thing that got me through this sunburn was the male lead who had taken the hearts of the sisters. Giulio Berruti is the most gorgeous man to have ever walked the earth. It is actually eerie how perfectly his body and face is chiselled, as if the wasn’t born but created in the lab of Dr. Frank N. Furter, our favourite transvestite. When he was thinking of creating the perfect man, he must have been thinking of Berruti. Unfortunately, his acting skills could not match his smouldering sexiness.
Honestly, this is the worst movie I have seen in a long time. Don’t let the romance of summer fool you into going to see this, even if it is for the glory of Berruti. Just resist.
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
