Response to the review of The Secret Society For Slow Romance by Ian Simmons

This is a long comment that I left in response to the generally positive review of The Secret Society For Slow Romance by Ian Simmons.  See the review here - https://kickseat.com/written-review/the-secret-society-for-slow-romance-2022

Comment/Response:

Thanks for reviewing the movie Ian. Here are some thoughts re: some items raised in the review. I look forward to hearing about this in your next 'don't read the comments' video :).

First, thanks a lot for appreciating the cinematography in the movie. Making a movie look good/beautiful takes a lot of work.

Yes, the movie is not a typical romantic comedy. It does, however, capture real world elements of some relationships.

Re: theatricality in acting - some real world people - specially in NYC - are very theatrical. Rene is a more low key character, while Allyson has some theatrical moments.

The solution to world poverty presented in the movie is not naive. It's one of the solutions that has worked in the real world. Increasing productivity, giving people more work, providing funding where needed. Over the past 100 years that approach has significantly reduced world poverty and prior to the pandemic the UN estimated that we were about 10 years away from the worst levels of poverty being eliminated on Earth. Now it might take a bit longer, due to problems caused by the pandemic, war, etc.

Compared to My Dinner With Andre, Slow Romance is very similar. Except Romance is primarily a positive and realistic story (as realistic as Andre) and it is one that works well in the feature length film format. Not for everyone, obviously :). But many who have seen the movie have enjoyed it. A lot of people are used to the three act structure from Hollywood movies. Slow Romance tells the story in a different way - multiple scenes leading up to a conclusion of the story in the final scene. Similar to the structure used in Werewolf Ninja Philosopher.

Using cellphones to make movies is a reality in the 2020s. There is a shot of Allyson working on one of her movies - a black and white shot - towards the end of the movie. Many things from their days together are not shown - it's only a 95 mins long movie. There are however plans to make movies about filmmaking where we see films being made.

There is more of a story in Slow Romance - compared to Andre. I found Andre to be an interesting slice of life encounter movie. But Romance is more enjoyable - more happens over a longer period of time.

Tension, arguments, conflicts are devices used in movies. Not necessarily things people experience in the real world on a regular basis. Rene uses his happiness skills in the movie to keep conflicts from arising. That's an aspect of that character and the movie. A no-conflicts movie. For a comedy that can work.

But ultimately it is all a matter of taste. Movies work well for some, and not so well for others. All in all I am glad you watched the movie twice and wrote about it. Slow Romance 2 coming soon!