When Anna’s (Amy Adams) four-year anniversary to her boyfriend passes without an engagement ring, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Inspired by an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on Leap Day, Anna follows Jeremy (Adam Scott) to Dublin to propose to him. But after landing on the wrong side of Ireland, she must enlist the help of the handsome and carefree local Declan (Matthew Goode) to get her across the country. Along the way, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places.Leap Year is one of the most delightful, relatable romantic comedies to come along in a great while, and its appeal is due in equal measure to the talents of its star, Amy Adams, and the lush, romantic countryside of Ireland. The two together are enough to melt the hardest of hearts. Adams is smart, funny, approachable, gorgeous but real, and very witty and nuanced in her performance. Adams’s character, Anna, waits for her stiff of a doctor boyfriend, Jeremy, played by Adam Scott, to propose after four years of coupledom, to no avail. When Jeremy goes off to Ireland on business, Anna gets a bee in her bonnet to follow–to be able to capitalize on the Irish tradition that women can propose to men on leap year day, February 29. To no one’s surprise, Jeremy remains clueless even amid the gorgeous Irish landscape, and Anna has some predictable misfortunes along the way. But fate brings her into the path of a handsome bartender, Declan, played by Matthew Goode, and from there the audience can just sit back and enjoy the fluffy ride. Goode, who was a revelation in A Single Man, is a leading man to watch, not just because of his good looks, but because as an actor he’s able to communicate subtly, with looks and gestures that make his interactions with Adams’s Anna touching and believable. And with majestic Ireland as a backdrop, their wee spark just might blossom into something magical. –A.T. Hurley
Rating: 
(out of 42 reviews)
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May 30, 2010
#1
Review by A. Boston
Rating:
I love romantic comedies and got really excited when I recently saw the preview for Leap Year. I love Amy Adams and remembered Matthew Goode from a few other movies(Chasing Liberty, Watchmen, Match Point). Lately, there have been a lot of romcoms that don’t do it for me, they’re just lacking the heart, that certain something. Thankfully, Leap Year had heart, laughs and was just all around a well done movie. 24 hours after seeing it, my boyfriend and I were still talking about how much we liked it. Not only was it cute, but it had an interesting message.
The premise is that Anna(Amy Adams) has been dating her doctor boyfriend for 4 years, they’re buying an apartment together in Boston, and she wants to get engaged, but he hasn’t asked. So she plans to surprise him in Dublin while he’s away on business on the one day in Irish tradition that says the woman can propose to the man, Feb 29th of a leap year. Of course, her trip doesn’t go as planned, and she ends up needing help getting to Dublin from Declan(Matthew Goode).
While predictable as far as romantic comedies go, it was fast paced, funny and romantic. We both really liked Matthew Goode’s character and his sense of humor. He was excellent as a multi-faceted leading man. I love Amy Adams because she seems like a regular girl(funny, sweet, not a twig)and she was perfect for the role of Anna. The scenery of Ireland was gorgeous, and makes you want to take a trip there. Definitely a great date movie, worth paying to see.
Unfortunately, no good special features on the DVD, only some deleted scenes. I’m a sucker for “making of” featurettes and thought they might at least have done a little something about filming in Ireland. You’ll only find a bare bones DVD here.
May 30, 2010
#2
Review by Kelly Klepfer
Rating:
Leap Year is charming for several reasons. One. It is primarily set in Ireland and the lush scenery makes it visually delicious.
Secondly, the classic storyline is freshly retold. A girl who is on the cusp of living her perfect-for-her fairy tale life, lacks one thing, an engagement ring. Her charming, but irresponsible father, reminds her of an Irish tradition. Every leap year, a woman is able to propose to the man she loves and then her dreams will come true. It had worked for a member of Anna’s (Amy Adams) family.
When Anna’s cardiologist boyfriend fails to propose (oh, he delivers diamonds, but of the earring variety) the night before he leaves for a medical conference in Dublin, Anna decides enough time has passed and she’d grab hold of her dreams and use the Leap Year legend to make it happen. After all, Jeremy is already in Ireland, so there must be a wee bit of fate involved.
Finally, there is serious heart in this movie. Declan (Matthew Goode) plays the angry, wounded bartender who agrees, after a series of travel mishaps, to haul Anna to Dublin. Anna, determined to create the secure life she never had as a child, begins to break down Declan’s walls. As the two interact, they soften towards each other and begin to understand one another. There are a couple of satisfying scenes when realization dawns and both actors silently emote feelings that can’t be put into words. Leap Year is an old-fashioned romantic story that didn’t involve sex first, love later or require a lot of four letter words to make a point. Comfortably PG.
Of course, this is romantic comedy/chick flick territory so there are predictable and yeah right moments. But when the movie is this sweet, does it matter where Declan got clean clothes that fit, or that the intelligent, savvy, extremely methodical Anna didn’t think about electricity issues in Europe? Not at all. When this movie releases on DVD I will purchase it.
May 30, 2010
#3
Review by L. Power
Rating:
Being Irish myself I was somewhat interested in checking out this rom com with Amy Adams, another excellent reason to see any movie.
So, legend has it that in Ireland a woman can propose to a man on the leap day of a leap year. When an anticipated proposal does not emanate from her doctor boyfriend, Anna hears of this legend and so she has to go to Dublin to propose. Imagine. Dublin.
So, Murphy’s Law intervenes, and the flight gets diverted, to Wales, and to make a long story short has to take a really roundabout route to get there in a beat up old Renault 4, with an obnoxious yet somewhat charming Irish guy, who gives her no respect. And Murphy, well, he just keeps getting in the way, and will she even get to Dublin.
But, if you put a woman in a car with a charming Irish guy for any length of time, warm feelings can start to develop. So, things happen they way they do, and it’s all done with great humor, the scenery is fantastic, it’s like an Irish postcard at times. Amy Adams is amazing, and her costar, Matthew Goode is also excellent.
The one thing I will say is every Hollywood movie about Ireland has the obligatory cows blocking the road scene. It does happen, but come on.
I think you would really enjoy this movie, and I highly recommend it. If you like this type of movie, consider
The Quiet Man (Collector’s Edition), with John Wayne and Maureen O Hara, really the classic of its kind, and The Matchmaker with Janeane Garofalo, and most recent Cecelia Ahern’s movie P.S. I Love You with Hilary Swank.
Hope this was helpful.
May 30, 2010
#4
Review by Imagbarer
Rating:
This is one of the cleanest funny movies I’ve seen in a long time. Even with its predictable ending, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Tell me….why can’t Hollywood make more of these movies instead of the garbage they usually make. Can’t wait till it’s released on DVD.
May 30, 2010
#5
Review by S. C. Morgan
Rating:
I was so happy to find a romantic comedy that I could enjoy with my 11 year old daughter. We both loved it! Beautiful shots, great acting and fun story…nice, clean, romantic fun!