In The Layover, two best friends, played by Kate Upton and Alexandra Daddario, end up competing for the affections of a man they meet on a road trip. I personally took immediate issue with the film’s premise because I would never, ever… Ahem, since this movie was clearly never about me and my ‘would never evers,’ I got myself together and carried on watching.

I’m not going to lie, I expected more than what I got; a truth that’s of course my own fault. The reason is I saw the trailer and made the mistake of assuming that William H. Macy, an actor who’s been in a number of my favourite movies – Magnolia (1999) to name just one, and often played very interesting complex characters was going to direct a film with similar qualities. I unfortunately would not call The Layover complex. And, as for interesting, that depends on what you’re into.

Those who really ‘like’ Upton and Daddario are the ones likely to enjoy this film. I smiled at certain points, but definitely didn’t laugh much. I’ve only ever seen Upton in one movie, The Other Woman (2014), a film in which she plays a relatively sweet and innocent twenty-something-year-old. Perhaps it’s partly because of that memory of Upton’s sweet character in said film that I found it odd-sounding and challenging to buy the expletives that were flying out of her character’s mouth in Macy’s movie.

The avid movie watcher will likely guess how the story will end before they even start watching. There’s an overall forced feeling about this film, particularly in regards to the emotional and romantic moments. Don’t make my mistake and tune in with expectations based on Macy’s previous acting work. Big fans of Upton and Daddario… enjoy, I guess?

Happy Film loving,

G