Reviewed By: Emanuel Caros

When it comes to romantic comedies there's not much that's commendable.  Rarely since Annie Hall broke the fourth wall has a love story taken an original approach beyond the typical set-up.  While some indie gems like Garden State have provided romantics with their fill, an influx of major studio garbage (The Proposal, Anything Jennifer Aniston has been in) has diluted the genre.

Luckily Fox Searchlight picked up Mark and Jay Duplass' Cyrus.  The film centers around John (John C. Reilly) a down-in-the-dumps editor whose luck changes when he meets the beautiful Molly (Marisa Tomei).  Things get weird when Molly's grown son Cyrus (Jonah Hill) enters the picture.  With problems of his own, most notably his desire to keep his mom's attention, Cyrus creates a hellish situation for John that could compromise the relationship and John's happiness.

The Duplass brothers are highly regarded in the indie world as the godfathers of "mumblecore;" a style of film-making that focuses on the relationships of the characters.  The aesthetics carry over as Cyrus looks low-budget and the camera work looks like the directors used a hand-held.  The plot is bare; in fact the film even gets downright boring at times.  The flat-lining story is resuscitated by Jonah Hill's extremely creepy portrayal of the mentally unstable son and John C. Reilly's comically pathetic divorcée; and as usual, Marisa Tomei is a beauty of great proportion.  Unfortunately, while the performances help the movie, they're not enough and the Duplass' first foray into mainstream cinema is hindered by a boring storyline.  

Still though, Cyrus is a thousand times more enjoyable than The Bounty Hunter or Just Wright.  If you're with your boys, go see Predators; if you're with a lass, Cyrus is the way to go.

6.5/10