CHERISH
"The title of Finn Taylor's new movie is syllabicated in the opening
credits as Cher-ish-a perfect adjective, it turns out, for a batty,
cheerfully crass, shape-shifting farce that just refuses to go away.
Zoe (Robin Tunney), a San Francisco shrinking violet, winds up under
house arrest after she's wrongly accused of a hit-and-run. The tireless
heroine, peering out Rapunzel-like from her second-floor window, gamely
battles cabin fever, while Cherish itself settles into a fatiguing
manic-room scenario, barely assuaged by Tim Blake Nelson's gawky,
smitten SFPD official, who visits weekly to check on Zoe's electronic
ankle bracelet. The plotting is alternately belabored and distracted,
and cumulatively so inconsequential that the climactic Run Lola Run
beat-the-clock plays out with zero suspense." -Dennis Lim, The Village
Voice
"'...an endearingly offbeat romantic comedy with a great meet-cute
gimmick: The heroine meets Prince Charming while he's fitting her
with an electronic ankle bracelet...Tunney delivers a tour de force
as the ditzy Zoe...Nelson makes a surprisingly agreeable leading man,
and there is considerable romantic chemistry as the mutually mistrustful
Zoe and Daly warily circle each other...Writer-director Finn Taylor
bends genres at the climax, turning the story into a silly chase-thriller...But
by that point, the luminous Tunney has built up so much good will
that 'Cherish' still ranks as the season's first bona fide date-film
sleeper." --Lou Lemenick, The New York Post
"Implausible at every turn, it offers a dab of quirkiness and edge
from writer-director Finn Taylor, but otherwise has nothing for audiences
to embrace...Robin Tunney and Tim Blake Nelson have enough going for
them that they would be worth seeing in happier circumstances, but
they can't make much of a dent in this negligible film...'Cherish'
makes us feel that we're being held prisoner as much as Zoe." --Kevin
Thomas, The Los Angeles Times
"Ms. Tunney, whose slightly blank beauty has some tension churning
its placid surface, has rarely been well used. Here Mr. Taylor exploits
her suburban anxiety as comedy...As a poky little character comedy,
'Cherish' is enchanting in a small-scale way. But when Mr. Taylor
tries to turn it into a genre thriller, 'Cherish' deteriorates so
quickly that it's unsettling ...Elvis Mitchell, The New York Times
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