Oh, was I glad to see Luc Besson's Lucy pound the competition at the box office this weekend. In interviews, the director has talked about how he pursued this material, the lengths his female lead went to, and you know, it all sounds so personal. Goodness knows it's original, and proves once again it's the director, also the writer in this case, that creates the material and can challenge viewers. We see the lame comedy Sex Tape drop its haul to just over 6 million in its second week, with Transformers slowing to 4.7 million in its fifth. The big surprise was Rob Reiner's And So It Goes debuting in 8th place. Starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, these "safe comedies" used to be box office gold, and 25 years after Reiner hit a home run with When Harry Met Sally..., not hugely admired by me but my many of my brethren, as a director he seems poised for another hit. He had one a few years ago with The Bucket List, but he needs to take a risk. A college friend scoffed at him as a director, saying he always played it safe. Not always, but too nice might be his bigger issue, especially when we'd bet a fair amount of money that those two stars, smiling in the movie poster, end up together at the end. With Lucy, who knows what'll happen? That's the mystery, and that will draw more people in with the right story and ideas.
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