A movie about a writer based on a book, well, how could I not include a review on NZ Booklovers? The Right Kind of Wrong is a fun, “light and fluffy” Canadian romantic comedy for those days that you feel like nothing more than a bit of romantic escapism.
Based on the book Sex and Sunsets by Tim Sandin, The Right Kind of Wrong follows Leo (played by True Blood’s Ryan Kwanten), a failed writer, as he pursues Colette (played by The Vampire Diaries’ Sara Canning). The catch? Leo first lays eyes on Colette on her wedding day. Leo is recently divorced from Julie, who has reached instant fame thanks to her blog – about him – called “Why You Suck”. Colette is everything his ex-wife is not, and now the only challenge to idealistic dreamer Leo is to prove to her that the man she has just married after only 4 months is the wrong one for her.
More and more I have a “thing” for Canadian film and television: there’s a certain something they possess that their American counterparts lack. In The Right Kind of Wrong it comes across as a particular brand of twee quirkiness (and a pair of separated-in-the-divorce white cats called “Snow” and “Balls”). Yes, some elements of the 2013 film are a bit unlikely and rather far-fetched, but I think that comes with the rom-com territory. What doesn’t always, however, is appeal to the masculine sex; kindly spending a rainy afternoon watching this film with me (rather than something more action-packed), my lovely man enjoyed as many laugh-out-loud moments as I did. Perhaps because the protagonist is a male, there is a lot more comedy appealing to men than some romance films. A male protagonist in a film of this genre also adds an extra dash of idiosyncratic charm, which Kwanten (to my surprise) pulls off well.
A special mention must be made about the setting of The Right Kind of Wrong. Set in a small town in Canada, after watching this movie I dreamt for days about packing up my life and moving to one, to wooden houses and quaint snowy town atmosphere. I have since learned that the film was shot in a ski resort in Alberta, so, of course, the scenery includes some wonderful rugged Canadian outdoors footage where the only thing missing is some snow.
No, The Right Kind of Wrong is not Oscar-winning cinematography, but it is a fun, warm, light-hearted film with some amusing eccentricities that give it a unique flavour. In these chilly winter months, this film will make good company for a quiet Saturday afternoon at home, rugged up on the couch.
REVIEWER: Emma Codd