User Reviews

Sam (Justin Long) is a weary writer who novelizes movies. He turns already made movies into novels. He is smitten with the coffee shop girl Birdie Hazel (Evan Rachel Wood). So he uses her Facebook profile to bone up on all her favorites.

This is co-written by Justin Long. He's playing his try and true awkward uncomfortable character. There are a lot of great actors. Peter Dinklage, Sam Rockwell and Brendan Fraser are all going out of their way to play wild crazy characters. It would have been better if one of them played the bigger character of the best friend. Of course they were probably just doing Justin a favor. Evan Rachel Wood is lovely but she's not the rom-com type. There are mildly amusing performances. The central concept is a good idea to write a movie around. The ending is quite cheesy. The movie needs much better writing. It makes me appreciate how hard comedy is.

I'll admit right up front I quit watching after an hour, not because it was bad but because it was nothing new. If you're unfamiliar with the "manic pixie" story, think of Natalie Portman in "Garden State" or Zooey Deschanel in everything she's ever done. Or if you want to get right down to it, there's the original and greatest manic pixie that ever was: Audrey Hepburn. The formula is you take 1 lovable loser guy, usually stiff, awkward or outright lame, and you pair him with a girl who is hazardously spontaneous and carefree as if she's still suffering the effects of novacaine from the dentist an hour earlier. Personally I love these kinds of films, but I love them because it's interesting to see the unique angle each one offers. But here in "A Case of You" there is no angle.

So what we get are endless scenes of the guy making a fool out of himself and the girl pirouetting through the scenes not noticing. There's a very weak, contrived "conflict" (the guy is facebook stalking her), but I don't have to watch the last 20 minutes to guess exactly how it ends. I'm guessing: revelation, confrontation, reconciliation. It's the standard formula just like the rest of the story was up to the point I turned it off.

You might enjoy this movie if you're not familiar with the manic pixie formula, but if you are, then watching this flick is sort of like reading a teen vampire book. You know exactly how it's going to go but you read it anyway because War & Peace gives you a headache.

Where this movie fails, beyond simply being a lukewarm copy of all the others, is that there is nothing quirky about the manic pixie (Evan Rachel Wood). There is no depth, no bizarre secret past, no soul. For example, in the excellent "Garden State" we get Natalie Portman who is a manic pixie on the surface but we soon learn that she suffers from a spectrum of problematic mental issues like pathological lying. It gives her character complexity and makes her interesting to us. Similarly if we look at Audrey Hepburn's manic pixie (take "Breakfast at Tiffany's") we get the same superficial happy-go-lucky exterior but we are fully aware that she is more or less a prostitute. Again, tremendous complexity to an otherwise predictable character.

But here in "A Case for You" there is absolutely no complexity. There is nothing out of the ordinary about either of the two, except that he's an awkward loser and she's a social butterfly.

I do give it points for some excellent (yet all too brief) cameos by Sam Rockwell as a hilariously egotistical guitar teacher, Peter Dinklage as a riotously funny coffee shop barista, and Vince Vaughn as a fast talking corporate suit who ought to have a Bluetooth headset surgically attached to his head. These scenes absolutely carried the film, but ultimately the story itself gives us nothing new.

Instead of this I would recommend any of the others I mentioned, as well as an unknown Japanese gem "Shiki-Jitsu" (Ritual) written by, and starring, Ayako Fujitani who is Steven Seagal's daughter (NO RESEMBLANCE!).

In the age of social media, dating has become infinitely more complicated, and the ability to pore over your loved one's Facebook profile or Twitter feed to find those little idiosyncracies that make them unique is something we've probably all experienced. But what happens when you start taking it a bit too far?

Written by Justin Long (who also stars), A Case of You follows struggling writer Sam, whose daily trips to a local coffee shop have left him infatuated with the free-spirited Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood). Unfortunately, Birdie loses her job before Sam works up the nerve to ask her out, but never fear - with a little bit of Facebook stalking, Sam can not only find out where she'll be next, he can also begin molding himself into her ideal match.

Yes, it sounds more than a little creepy, but Long is charming and charismatic enough to keep us interested, and Sam's willingness to put himself into incredibly awkward situations in order to impress Birdie result in some humorous exchanges. There are also a few laugh-out-loud moments that come courtesy of Keir O'Donnell as Sam's roommate and Peter Dinklage as a flamboyantly sassy barista.

While amusing at times, A Case of You doesn't stray far from the typical romantic comedy template: boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy learns important life lesson and tries to win girl back. The chemistry between Long and Wood is believable, and watching them together is far from boring, but the film never aspires to be more than a paint-by-numbers affair. It's a decent first effort for screenwriter Long, but certainly nothing that reinvents the genre.

-- Brent Hankins, www.nerdrep.com

On paper the story might work but in the film it does not. He fakes it until he makes it? That's not making sense. It's a recipe for disaster, likely to end in murder-suicide. Also, not credibly acted, and the is girl much too consistently nice to be real. Fake on fake!

Where the romantic comedy A Case of You, starring Justin Long and Evan Rachel Wood, succeeds is ultimately where it missteps. Directed Kat Coiro assembles a terrific cast including the underutilized Sam Rockwell and extremely memorable Peter Dinklage, however, the screenplay that is co-written by Long along with brother Christian and Keir O'Donnell doesn't have a true sense of identity. Tells the story of a young man who thinks he's met the girl of his dreams and attempts to court her by all interests and statuses from her Facebook page.

In an era where social media is prevalent and dating becomes the new norm via a tweet or a poke, the story rings true in many ways. However, the misguided title and evolution of events don't exactly scream fresh and unique. Coiro manages some very funny moments and gets some decent outcomes from some of the cast particularly Evan Rachel Wood and Peter Dinklage. In its short running time, the film doesn't exactly feel smooth and polished in the way a comedy needs to be.

With all the obvious flaws, A Case of You is still very entertaining and enjoyable. Sam Rockwell is memorable in his few moments on-screen along with Vince Vaughn and Brendan Fraser. Check it out when you can.

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"You could become the man of her dreams if you wanted to." Sam (Long) is a struggling writer who has a crush on Birdie (Wood), the barista at the coffee place he frequents. He has no idea how to approach her until his friend brings up the idea of looking at her Facebook profile. Sam studies what he sees and becomes everything she is looking for. When she begins to fall for him Sam rethinks his choices. I am really becoming a Justin Long fan. In every movie he is in he is very easy to like and very funny. After the amazing Best Man Down movie I was looking forward to seeing this. While this wasn't as good as that one this was still very enjoyable. What could have been a generic cookie cutter romantic comedy was changed just enough to make it interesting and fun to watch. The best part was that it wasn't 100% predictable, more like 90% but still... The movie is more or less about a non-creepy (not totally at least) stalker who gets the girl by not being himself. It had the possibility of being totally creepy and borderline scary but the performances and the writing made it sweet and funny. I did like this quite a bit and recommend it. Overall, the sweetest and least creepy stalker movie I have ever seen. I give this a B+.

As I've stated before, there's nothing worse in life than (a) a wasted talent and (b) a wasted opportunity on film and, unfortunately, A Case of You is a misstep in what could've resulted in a film with a strong commentary on our over-connected society. Its issue right off the bat is it takes an idea that isn't really romantic and makes it the subject of a romantic comedy. The idea of a man using a woman's social networking profile (a woman he just met, mind you) to make an attempt to model himself after a man who likes the same music as she does, the same books, and the same activities so he can come to have a chance with her.

This movie shows qualities of a man I'm sure few women appreciate: disingenuous behavior, dishonesty, possible invasion of privacy, etc. Not exactly the traits you'd want to find in your significant other. Let me offer a question to the girls that enjoyed this film, what if you current or future significant other did the same thing that the lead male character in A Case of You to you? Would you still find his qualities ones to relish and his character worthy enough to date? The man in question is Sam (Justin Long), an ambitious writer confined to the uninspired job of penning the novelizations to hit movies (confession: I collected those like antique comics as a child). The female he falls for is Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood), a barista he meets one day who is subsequently fired the following day. Sam then asks the flirtatious, presumably homosexual dwarf who works there (Peter Dinklage in the kind of role he should avoid if he wants to try and break any stereotypes) about her to which he provides her last name, leaving Sam's option to go from socializing to social-networking.

Both Long and Wood give adequate performances because their charisma as actors rarely allows them to do otherwise. Since both actors have started, each have taken a wide-variety of roles, Wood especially, whose riveting performance in Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen as a delinquent teen I'll never forget. However, it is Long's character who is unlikable in the picture, one of the only movies next to his film Taking Chances a few years back that I recall not being fond of his character. Long's character, for starters, is one of the writer-types that likes to write three to five sentence before deleting them in disgust. Furthermore, he's also the kind of person in a romantic comedy that has the gall to get angry at the girl for liking the person he pretends to be rather than the person he really is.

This is where my optimism and likability for Long's character went out the window. Here's a guy who fakes his entire personality for this woman and convinces her everything she likes and dislikes mirrors his personal likes and dislikes before getting mad at her for not having anything else to talk about besides her specific tastes. To put that in some perspective, that'd be like if I was a filmmaker and mentioned a movie not my own that I really loved and enjoyed to my girlfriend. Say we talked about it for a long while. Trying to follow the abrupt change in emotions portrayed in A Case of You, it'd be like after fifteen minutes of discussing the film I got mad at my girlfriend for not mentioning my movie.

Cameos are littered in the movie, including Sam's pest of a boss played by Vince Vaughn, Brendan Fraser in questionably necessary role, and Sam Rockwell as a guitar teacher who is called by Sam once he learns Birdie finds nothing sexier than a man who can play guitar. It's depressing to note that Rockwell's performance here is shockingly unfunny and so over-the-top and out of place in the film that it's a blessing he's only in one scene. Never again do I want to say such a thing about Rockwell.

The film wants to make a case for the unhealthy qualities that arouse when there is a bias or larger focus on one person in a relationship, but by the third act, when the problem is recognized, it's hard to have any sympathy for the lead character since he brought it all upon himself. The only sympathy one can have is for Wood's character, who is just sucked into this mess by an insincere man wearing sincere clothing. Director Kat Coiro seems to understand human relationships, given her tract record of short films and feature-length films concerning love, personal struggles, and dating, but Coiro seems to make A Case of You into a case for background checks and further research on people's life partners.

Starring: Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Brendan Fraser, and Peter Dinklage. Directed by: Kat Coiro.

"A Case of You" is worth singling out if some great flicks like "Ruby Sparks" made you dig for more. Though, this movie is sort of reliving the dumb formula from the comparison. Okay, an honest opinion is that viewers will be fractured by the plot's predictability, but I'm buying. That doesn't prevent me from saying that the film is one of the sweet romantic comedies bolstered with energy from its young cast ensemble of bright comedians. I dunno, but call me crazy.

Sam (Justin Long) is a well-known author that suffers a block to his next book. An inspiration is what he totally needs, suffice to say. Until she meets the cute blondie coffee gal named Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood), he develops a quirky obsession. As soon as Sam learns that she was fired for frequent tardiness at work, he decided to stalk her Facebook account and decisively scan her likes, interests, and routines. Sam is the ideal manly stalker. And one by one he tries to learn what she likes to do: Play the guitar, read Darwinian, and rock climbing. This is in no doubt a rudimentary principle of we follow in order to woo our special someone, and I admire the film for having the guts to deliver it regardless of being stereotyped.

The chemistry between Long and Wood feels cheesy but endearing. Though, their kismet might be unfairly familiar but at least it's sugar-coated with their funny moment and both make it work. We also get the most of Keir O'Donnell as Sam's buddy roommate Eliot especially from his late- bloomer taboo jokes therein. And the same goes to Peter Dinklage as a gay barista and Brendan Fraser as Birdie's ex Tony. Too bad Dinklage and Fraser is alarmingly hilarious they deserve more time frame than Busy Philips and Vince Vaughn (although he's too substantial) who are both fruitless here. Also adding Sam Rockwell to the mix as the guitar lesson instructor, it gets ticklish funny.

The credits for the screenplay goes to Justin, his brother Christian, and O'Donnell themselves. Kudos to them. They keep me howling in some of their one-liners and made me attracted to their persona. However, like I said their notion for the narrative may disappoint for its jaded impression. This explains why major distributors refused to finance the film for trust issues and let IFC do it anyway. Nevertheless, this made me look forward for Justin for his next screenplay pitch and see what he could bring new to the table other than acting well in this film. He's proved to be an actor and auteur.

The film doesn't just focus on the love story per se. As we delve into Sam's motivational ease, we're starting to care for whether what he's potent feelings towards Birdie is ideal to be in his own writing or not. The message is too simple to guess, but heck we all have our Sams within us. If Sam don't end up winning Birdie's heart, at least she ends up helping him close the chapter.

"A Case of You" is essentially sweet quirky rom-com that kept me howling with hilarity straight up. If you're a fan of Ruby Sparks, this touching gem is worth singling out.

A reviewer said that our protagonist was basing his interest in the girl solely on looks. That is not true. He saw her every day interacting with customers at the coffee shop. He liked her spirit.

Reviewers also can't understand why she would like our guy, especially since he was a faker. But you can't account for attraction. She saw the real him all along and liked it. Perhaps she was flattered that he made such an effort to accommodate her interests.

Women have intuition that guides them in relationships. She liked him. Let's accept that and move on.

Just Long's comedic timing was perfect in this one. It's like he was channeling Woody Allen without actually copying him. I also thought the cameos were fine. You had a fast-talking publisher, a gay midget coffee guy, an oafish ex-boyfriend, and a wacky guitar teacher, all played by stars. They were good. No one went over the top, which would have been very easy to do.

I think the best thing in this one was the roommate and his girlfriend. I'm not familiar with either actor, but they were natural, funny, down-to-earth, and genuinely helpful.

I don't know the lead girl, Ms. Wood, but she sure is lovely. If her character was not a child of hippies, she would have a jock boyfriend.

There was so much potential for this flick to fall into "Indie" stereotypes with a soundtrack, self-conscious performances, existential philosophy, and some depressing commentary on life. But this one didn't do that. The quirky pixie girl actually turned out to be a solid person with a forgiving soul and plenty of patience.

Although I would love to know how she supports herself.

One thing to note is that all her interests are wildly Left Wing, but she does explain that being due to her parentage. But I guess you could say that the one "Indie" stereotype is that the characters almost always love Godless, artsy stuff, and like most rom-coms, they seem to always live in New York. Trust me folks, N.Y. is not romantic at all. It's dirty, dangerous, crowded, and smelly.

Good movie. Not particularly memorable, but worth a date night. Enjoy.

This is a pretty good movie if there was an app to write movies using a vast template of clichés, stereotypes and characters and scenes you've seen a few thousand times before. It's not awful and its very well put together. Almost flawless. Technically it's like the robot version of a movie. And without irony, snarky, self criticism either. And to be fair it has some pretty funny small moments. And in a way it's refreshing to see a technically soulless perfect execution of an idea in an era of awful indie anarchist hipster junk still doing bad sound, shaky cam, weak lighting and an incoherent story.

But if you're looking for either something very good or new or interesting or even high drama, sitcom level high drama then no. You'll be disappointed. The machine isn't that sophisticated or adventurous for that. And that's a good thing because it will be entirely predictable, like comfort food.

First - watch this flick for Peter Dinklage as Gerard - he is a perfect bitchy hoot! His character adds so much sparkle to this run of the mill story!

It's easy to follow - boy tries to mold himself into something he is not only to get the attention of the girl he so wants to date! The story incorporates modern social media and brings to the surface that everything someone writes about themselves is not necessarily interpreted correctly by the reader. And in doing that Sam makes a fool of himself!

You can't go wrong with this movie - lots of chuckles and a few laughs - with a feel good ending!

Remember when indie rom-coms - films made on a shoestring budget - were quirky, odd and refreshingly different from their Hollywood brethren? Those days, it seems, are long past. Truthfully, you'd be hard-pressed to find anything beyond the conventional in A Case Of You, a slight, sweet romance that's passably entertaining but never fully engages on an emotional level.

In this day and age of social media stalking, struggling writer Sam (Justin Long) decides to study up on just about anything and everything his sun-kissed barista Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood) has liked on Facebook. He's unwilling to really show the world who he is, you see, so he busies himself with guitar lessons, cooking classes and books he's never heard of. But, when things start to get serious, Sam freaks out, realising that Birdie has no idea who he really is as a person.

Scripted by Long, his brother Christian and Keir O'Donnell, A Case Of You is earnest and well-intentioned - for the most part, it even manages to steer clear of making Sam's studying of Birdie's Facebook page as creepy as it could be. It even adds a couple of nice moments when Sam lets his guard down and tells Birdie more about himself, which does lend some genuine credibility to their relationship.

But it's all too predictable. As Sam blunders his way through classes, picking up approximately no new demonstrable skills and writing a brooding novel about his exploits (much creepier than Facebook- stalking), the film coasts along with hardly any narrative tension. It's tough also because Birdie, despite Wood's best efforts, comes across as your standard Manic Pixie Dream Girl: that stereotypically kooky sweetheart of a love interest who will melt and win even the hardest of hearts.

It's a shame because this is Long's best work yet as an actor. He keeps Sam grounded, real and annoying at just the right moments. When Sam's painstakingly constructed illusion of happiness shatters before him, Long folds a lot of heartbreak into the tears shining in his eyes. He shares a fun chemistry with Wood, who might not be able to break free of the script but does at least get to show off her pipes in one of the film's better scenes.

What's more telling is the fact that the most memorable bits of A Case Of You largely don't involve the two main characters. Instead, it's the cameos by a host of actors - no doubt pulled up from Long's own Facebook page - that provide the most laughs. Peter Dinklage, for one, is having the time of his life as Gerard, Birdie's oddball coffee-shop boss. The same goes for Sam Rockwell in the role of Sam's drug-addled guitar teacher.

Over 15 years ago, You've Got Mail re-invented the romantic comedy in the wake of technological advancements such as e-mail and modem dial- ups. It's quaint now, of course, but it sparkles with a wit and romance that's largely missing from A Case Of You. The latter film may be timely, folding Facebook and its myriad pros and cons into a modern love story. But it's far from timeless - a fact most unfortunately underscored by its failure to secure the rights to the classic Joni Mitchell song after which it's named.

Sam (Long), a modern-day writer, is introduced to the viewer as a shy and timid guy who finds himself in the dilemma of not finding his "Inspiration" in life. This immediately gives the viewer a sort of compassion for the desperate man who is in a sort of life-crisis... We are later introduced to a beautiful and down to earth girl, Birdie (Wood), the barista at the coffee bar where Sam frequently goes to. He finds himself beginning to like this girl but not knowing how to engage a conversation or a mere chance of getting to know her apart from the small chit chat that takes place while waiting for his coffee to be served. After a days work he goes back to his house and talks to Eliot (O'Donnell), his roommate, who tells him to look her up on Facebook so that he could get to find out something about this unknown barista and become her ideal man. Sam finally gets the opportunity to date Birdie but finds that he is becoming someone who he really isn't and becomes panic-struck with what is happening...... Personally I feel that many can connect with that lost and helpless feeling that Sam undergoes throughout the film until finally making it out and finding that, that makes one happy. The movie is not out of this world and could be considered another monotonous love story by many but, if you have some free time on your hands, give it a watch! You wont disappointed.

I liked this movie and first thought Justin Long and Rachel Wood were very mismatched. Changing my opinion early on, we realize that many people do not have a lot of confidence in finding love and dating in general. The couple meet in a local coffee shop were he finds her funny and engaging. He use resources on her Facebook page to have the courage to pursue her and invests all his energy in becoming all the things she likes on her Facebook interests. He's a movie writer and she loses her job in the coffee shop where they first met due to tardiness & he tracks her at a open acting forum and becomes diligent in learning many talents. Dancing, Rock climbing, camping, & guitar playing just to name a few. To know him is probably for some other movie, but he was a joy to see how dedicated he was to involve himself in all the hobbies and ambitions she has. I found it entertaining, somewhat predictable, but she also was aware of his charm no matter what his premise was. It was refreshing to see a couple develop a relationship no matter how flawed it was, and surely it was a novelty from the sexual posture all romantic comedies take on first.

Sam (Justin Long) lives in Manhattan and is a struggling writer. Mostly, he does novelizations of successful films, rather beneath his talent and ambitions. But, bills must be paid. Naturally, the city is an expensive place to live, so Sam has an eccentric roommate. One day, at a local coffee shop, Sam spies a beautiful barista, Birdie (Evan Rachel Wood). Its first-sight love, no doubt. However, when Sam tries to casually start a conversation, she doesn't seem interested. What to do? Well, this is the age of Facebook, after all, so Sam looks up her site. In her profile is a list of things she likes, such as ballroom dancing, judo, guitar music and the like. Now, here's a way into her good graces! Sam signs up for guitar lessons at once and the next time he approaches Birdie, he brings up topics he knows she will enjoy. It works! Soon, Birdie is amazed at how many of "their likes" are the same. Even though she gets fired from her barista job, Sam fins a way to see her, thanks to the new, gruff coffeemaker (Peter Dinklage). But, this is a dangerous game, is it not? What happens when either Birdie finds out Sam has different interests or Sam gets tired of pretending? This lovely story has two terrific stars. Long is boyishly handsome as ever, with a great sense of humor. Even better, Wood is utterly gorgeous and can turn an ordinary phrase into something special. What a fine duo they are! The supporting cast, too, is surprising, with Dinklage, Vince Vaughn, Sam Rockwell, Busy Phillips and others helping move the film along with zest. Viewers will enjoy the sets, Wood's fantastic costumes, the lively script, and the overall product. Beware, however, to a couple of risqué situations that will not go over well with all, including this viewer. Someday, perhaps, movies will be released with a PG and an R rated version, like Wide and Fullscreen. Until then, pick up the remote and fast forward through the upsetting scenes. But, slow down for the important parts of this lovely romantic comedy.

Review: Man, this film was extremely boring! It's a simple case of boy meets girl, boy likes girl, boy goes on Facebook to find out about girl, boy realises that he is doing everything to please the girl to woo her, boy comes clean about not being himself and then they fall into each other's arms. I was expecting a romantic comedy with some jokes, but it's totally not funny and it just seems to drag after a while. Justin along was really dull in this movie and he didn't even attempt any witty lines. He just moans through the whole film, which is surprising as he actually made it himself. The impressive cast list got wasted because there not really in the movie that much, so you end up watching Sam, the main character, making a big deal out of a simple loving relationship. Waste Of Time!

Round-Up: Brendan Fraser, Sam Rockwell and Vince Vaughn must have done this movie as a favour to Justin Long because I can't really see them reading the script and thinking to themselves "I Must Be In This Movie" because it's really not that good. It's obvious that Justin Long isn't that great at playing the lead because he was annoying in Die Hard 4.0 and pretty annoying in this movie. I was hoping for a light hearted comedy with loads of funny jokes, but I was totally disappointed. 

I recommend this movie to people who are into there Rom-Com's about a man who looks on Facebook to woo a girl and ends up doing everything for her whilst not being true to himself. 2/10