''Love and Other Disasters'' is a 2006

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film written and directed by Alek Keshishian. It had its world premiere at the

2006 Toronto International Film Festival The 31st Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 7 to September 16, 2006. Opening the festival was Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn's '' The Journals of Knud Rasmussen'', a film that "explores the history of the through the eyes of ...

. In 2008, the film had its UK premiere in London as the gala screening for the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

22nd London Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

portrays an assistant at British ''Vogue'' who is the catalyst for a group of young friends as they try to find love.

Outfest Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...

2007 presented the film as one of their features. Keshishian originally wanted Gwyneth Paltrow to play Jacks, but she was pregnant at the time. Paltrow was later given a

cameo role A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

Plot

Emily "Jacks" Jackson is an American transplant living in London and working as an intern at British ''Vogue''. She shares an apartment with her gay friend Peter Simon, a screenwriter. Afraid to be disappointed by a serious relationship, Jacks prefers to spend her free time with her friends and sleep with her ex-boyfriend, James, whom she does not love. Peter, who has never been in a relationship, spends too much time in his dreams and as a result cannot fall in love with a real person. It gets more complicated with the entrance of Paolo, a photography assistant for one of the photographers at Vogue. As the film develops, they come to realize their mistakes and eventually reach their happy endings.

Cast

Reception

David Rooney of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "wanly conceived effort looks an unlikely bet for significant bigscreen dates" and "Keshishian’s script is sloppy in both setting up and sustaining the sexual identity confusion that fuels the comic engine". Greg Hernandez of Out in Hollywood called it "a damned entertaining film", "well-written and well-directed by Alek Keshishian and wonderfully acted" and "includes a hilarious scene featuring cameos by Gwyneth Paltrow and Orlando Bloom."

References

External links

* * * 2006 films 2006 LGBT-related films 2006 romantic comedy films 2000s English-language films British LGBT-related films British romantic comedy films English-language French films EuropaCorp films Films directed by Alek Keshishian Films produced by Luc Besson Films set in London Films shot in London Films shot in Paris French LGBT-related films French romantic comedy films LGBT-related romantic comedy films 2000s British films 2000s French films Films with screenplays by Alek Keshishian {{2000s-romantic-comedy-film-stub