User reviews

"I Do... Until I Don't" (2017 release; 103 min.) brings the story of a British woman doing a documentary about the state of marriage. As the movie opens, Vivian, the British woman, is giving a presentation to a group of people in Vero Beach, FL. Vivian wonders if there is support to making marriage a 7 year deal with a renewal option. Meanwhile we get to know several married couples: there is Alice and Noah, who sell blinds for interior decorating, are low on money and trying to conceive. Vivian's sister Fanny and her husband are "free thinkers" (read: hippies) who supposedly have an open marriage. And then there is Cybil and Harvey, an older couple whose marriage has seen better times. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie but to tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the second feature length movie (after the excellent "In a World" a few years ago) that is written, produced and directed by Lake Bell (in addition to starring in the lead role, here as Alice). This basic premise is potentially interesting but alas, the movie gets stuck in certain patterns that are utterly predictable and not even interesting. It's a darn shame, as certainly the performers try their best: Ed Helms plays Bell's husband, but the show is for me almost stolen by the delightful Mary Steenburgen (as Cybil), an all too rare sighting of this great actress. Paul Reiser portrays her husband. This movie is billed as a comedy, and while there certainly are some moments that I chuckled, there isn't anything remotely crazy funny in the movie. In fact, the movie is more rom-com than just comedy. In the end, this movie feels like a missed opportunity: so much talent on the screen! I absolutely love Lake Bell, and I really wanted to like this, but in the end I just couldn't.

"I Do... Until I Don't" is now in its second week at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (7 people, including myself). Given the so-so critical buzz and correlating word-of-mouth, I can't see this playing in theaters very long. This movie really is for Lake Bell fans, and even there, better see this with lowered expectations.

There's a good cast and some humorous and poignant moments here, but the movie never seems to gel into an enjoyable or entertaining film. A lot of the dialogue and crude humor also seems to fall flat and I could not emotionally connect to the ensemble characters.

Dolly Wells is strong in her role of Vivian Prudeck, a conniving British documentary filmmaker trying to interview 3 couples that she hopes will eventually prove her theory that marriage as we know it is archaic, and that it should be a 7 year contract with an option to renew. Prudeck's interplay with her deadpan assistant Mel (Connie Shin) can be darkly funny at times.

Overall, despite some top shelf names in the cast here, the script by Lake Bell, who also directs and stars in the movie, just doesn't consistently work , in my opinion, and therefore this one was a disappointment to me.

Whoever made this must have money to burn, it sucked. the characters were boring and predictable, save your hard earned money and watch something else.

To put it simply I enjoyed the movie. The storyline might not have been intense, meaningful, or compelling but it was enjoyable to watch the couples learn something about themselves that one person in this case, was trying to exploit for their own benefit and celebrity.

Life can be funny at times if you are willing to see the humor in it. Worth the watch if you have the time.

This film tells the story of three couples in a small town, who have varying degrees of relationship problems. They are approached by a documentary film maker, and their relationships are drastically changed.

The story is off to a slow start, but it gradually improves. The initial impression is that the film has a lot of static shots, as if the camera is mounted on a tripod. As the film progresses, the camera work improves and moves with the actors. The story gets sympathetic and sweet as the film progresses too. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first half.

Painful to watch a bunch of unlikeable people. Couldn't get through 20 minutes of that crap.

It seems like many of the bad reviews were based on the first half of the film and maybe those folks, expecting a romantic comedy, gave up. It's not the greatest film but much better than the bad reviews. There are some funny parts and some hilarious. In the end it's sweet and that in it self my be a spoiler.

This movie is not good. It has some very talented actors and actresses in it, but the plot doesn't really say anything. The constant bickering and people talking and yelling over each other actually stresses me out and nothing really coherent is accomplished. I can't deal with that type of behavior in anyone, so watching a movie like that is really not conducive to invoking any kind of enjoyment in watching. Total waste of time. I can't really add any spoilers, because the entire thing is nonsense without any moment worthy of spoiling. Do Not Watch.

I think perhaps you have to be of a certain age group and/or married for an extended period of time to really appreciate this movie. A few laugh out loud moments. And, a few "I understand this" moments. This is an entertaining movie, not an award-winning one. Worth a watch.

disclaimer: some people identify as Cumberbitch; I definitely identify as Bell Boy

I can imagine why most of the reviews were pretty brutal: for an American comedy it's pretty subtle, perhaps because of how much Lake Bell has studied and worked in the UK. For a drama it's often times pretty corny, especially in the final 15-20 minutes where there's a whole lot of resolution with not a whole lot of story to accompany/account for it...

Still, I think it's beautifully made with nice performances of a bunch of really nice people, and perhaps because of the (quite human?) amount of corn, the resolution did feel nicely cathartic to me. Lovely cathartic even.

7.8 out of 10, to be more precise. Thanks Lake!

The ending is a little iffy, but the key to liking it seems to be connecting  to the couples in the movie. Movie itself is about a woman doing a documentary that will confirm her theory that marriage is a sham. She interviews three couples: Lake Bell plays a woman whose so into the documentary filmmaker that she lies about how unhappy she is with her husband (played by Ed Helms who I really like in this one) to get into the documentary. Her sister (played by Amber Heard) also gets selected for the documentary because of her open relationship with the father of her child and the last relationship, which is my favorite of the bunch. A seasoned coupled played by Paul Riser and Mary Steenburgen who just entered a rough patch in their relationship. It's not as confrontational as you would expect about a comedy about couples having troubles with their relationship would be , but it does express the anxiety that comes with being in a committed relationship for a long time, and it does a nice job of that. Very enjoyable for my taste.

http://cinemagardens.com

'I DO...UNTIL I DON'T': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

The new romantic comedy from actress turned writer/director Lake Bell, who also performed both duties on 2011's 'IN A WORLD...'. Bell also costars in the movie, with Ed Helms, Dolly Wells, Mary Steenburgen, Paul Reiser, Amber Heard and Wyatt Cenac. The story revolves around a bitter filmmaker, who's interviewing three couples in hopes of updating society's concept of marriage. The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. I think it's a sweet, and mostly enjoyable movie.

The story revolves around an egotistical documentarian, named Vivian (Wells), who is hoping to make a hit documentary proving her cynical beliefs on marriage are true. She thinks marriage should only be a seven-year contract, with the option to renew. Vivian finds three different couples, all going through their own different relationship issues, to be her film's subjects. When the relationships turn out to be more positive than the filmmaker was hoping for, she tries to intervene and make things worse for them.

The movie is mildly funny, but most of all it's just uplifting and sweet. I've never had any problems with feel good films, I think they're a necessity for a happy life. This is one of those movies. There's not a lot more to it, but Bell does a decent enough job directing, and the cast is all good as well. I enjoyed watching it.

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It is fun, witty, chatty, warm and acting is good! Most of you who rated it "1" must be young and single. I have seen "Shark meets Godzilla" movies with better rating. This is how life in a relationship is! And you get several couples in trouble here and you will surprise yourself. The movies will fool you on at least few stereotypes on this movie :-)

I stumbled upon this movie and am really glad that I did. I found myself laughing out loud throughout this movie. The script, dialog, casting and acting are great. I was very impressed to find out that Lake Bell wrote and directed it, as well as acted in it, whom I always liked as an actress. I have watched it a couple of times already and plan to watch it a few more times before I delete it from my DVR.

Seriously!? What is wrong with folk! This film was a somewhat realistic view of relationships. Not everything is what it seems. It's not always easy....BUT this film was a gd comedy! Ppl need 2 lighten up!! For all the folk who gave bad reviews I feel sorry 4u!! ....is life THAT bad!!???

I understand the first 30 minutes or so are roughish, just understand you're meant to not like these characters at first and then, I found myself crying laughing all of it. Absolute gem so happy I watched!

I thought it would be one thing, but it turned out to another affirming and celebrating marriage with four different couples of varying ages/life stages. Loved it! I laughed. I cried. I thought it was really cute. I've been married eight years and could relate to much of it.

Just forget the documentary filmmaker. She's lame!

We fell in love with Lake Bell in In a World and it's great to see her again. I Do has a great premise, characters, and droll humor. It has Bell's signature style of parody combined with deep affection for ordinary people. I Do is not at all corny, but it believes in relationships -- that's a really nice escape from all the 'beautiful people' and cynicism that pervades most Hollywood writing.

Watch it! Don't listen to the reviews! I think nobody should ever read reviews before watching a movie. We're all different, we all have different tastes and different comprehentions of the meanings inside a movie. I really loved this movie. It is soft, it hugs you and gives you hope. It is a "normal life" movie. It is what couples go through, what married people go through. But most of all it is new, fresh, very very little clichès (which is hard for a romantic comedi). Very original. I really liked it. I don't know what people who gave bad reviews hoped to see, but I wasn't disappointed.

WATCH THE MOVIE. READ THE REVIEWS AFTER.