Jeri
Jacquin
Coming to Bluray from directors Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
and 20th Century Home Entertainment is a moment that can make their
world go DOWNHILL.
Billie (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and Pete (Will Ferrell)
have taken their two sons Emerson (Ammon Ford) and Finn (Julian Grey) to the
Alps for a family ski trip. Pete is still dealing with the death of his father
and chooses a hotel that is not really family oriented as they are informed by
hotel greeter Charlotte (Miranda Otto). Making the bet of it the family hit the
slopes for the first day of skiing.
After, they head to the patio for lunch overlooking
the vast and huge mountains. Hearing what sounds like gunfire, within moments
everyone on the patio notices an avalanche coming towards them. As it gets
closer and closer, Billie and Pete realize that something has gone terribly
wrong. As people start to run, Billie sees the chaos and hugs her sons tight
while Pete jumps up and runs away.
Once the snow settles and everyone is okay but shaken,
Pete returns to the table as if nothing has happened shocking Billie. Clearly the
day is over. The next day Billie is still talking about it and needs to make
sure the hotel knows how she feels, and they talk to Michel (Kristofer Hivju)
who does not seem all that impressed by their concerns.
In contact with fellow co-worker Zach (Zach Woods) and
girlfriend Rosie (Zoe Chao), Billie is not happy about sitting through a visit
with them. Listening to their idle chatter with Pete, she interrupts when he
refers to their avalanche incident as a ‘moment’. It is a calm that would scare
most men, Billie calls him out on the details while Zach and Rosie witness it
all.
Taking a solo day, Billie tells Pete he gets the boys
for the day as she takes off to ski. Meeting up with Charlotte, they have a
woman on woman talk (with Charlotte doing most of the talking) and Billie is
introduced to Guglielmo (Giulio Berruti) and a choice has to be made.
But that’s not the only choice as they can’t continue with
this vacation until someone steps forward and calls out the elephant on the
slopes!
Louis-Dreyfus as Billie is everything one would expect
of a woman in a marriage that has problems, but she is quiet about it all. The
avalanche is pretty much a metaphor for her life and pressure cooker of
emotions. Each moment of not resolving her issues, fissures begin to release
about everything else BUT the avalanche. Louis-Dreyfus gives us a full-blown
view of her life and some of it is even relatable for many of us.
Ferrell as Pete is a husband who seems to be more
concerned with what he wants than what his family wants. Granted Pete is still dealing
with the emotions of losing his father but putting his needs before that of his
wife and sons starts to make him look selfish and trust the family notices. I
like roles like this for Ferrell where we get to experience more from him than
comedy. Playing opposite Louis-Dreyfus, it is an amazing give and take.
Woods as Zach is someone Pete professes to not want to
be around yet hangs out with him. Under the spell of a new girlfriend, Zach
seems to have changed his tune about life. Chao as Rosie lets Zach speak his
truth but makes sure he says it the way she thinks he should. It quickly
becomes clear who wears the ski-pants in the relationship.
Otto as Charlotte absolutely won me over with her
straight-forward, straight talking hilarious hotel greeter. Watching Billie’s facial
reactions to her brashness was everything and a comedic break in the otherwise
heavy story. Also, a shout out to Hivju as Michel because I laughed so hard with
his I-don’t-see-the-problem looks and mainly because I’d probably act the same
way.
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DOWNHILL’s Bluray and Digital Special Features include
Casting the Stanton Family and Friends, Deleted Scenes: Alternate Opening,
Billie’s Ski Boots, “I Deserve to be Comfortable:, Outtakes: Dinner with
Charlotte, Origins of the Film and Locations.
DOWNHILL is a mixed bag of emotions starting out with the
usual tourist family visiting the ski slope of the Alps, to a ‘moment’ when
life flashes, to acting as if nothing has happened, to wondering who this
person is Billie is married to. There are a few moments of giggle which I
appreciated because they fit perfectly into the story.
Louis-Dreyfus is one of the producers of the film and
says, “I am a huge fan of the Swedish film FORCE MAJEURE and was very amenable
to make an American version of it. I thought it would be very interesting to
put an American spin on it and open up some of these characters in different
ways. Five years later we have got a movie.” A trivia note, Hivju was in the
original FORCE MAJEURE playing the role of Zach.
I actually enjoyed taking the journey through this
story because Louis-Dreyfus and Ferrell make every second work. It’s a story of
life, love, the pressure of family, relationships with the backdrop of trying
to create the perfect family vacation which equals disaster.
In the end – it’s a different kind of disaster movie!
