Labor Day: A Laborious Love

Interested in watching a man's take on women's fantasies? Then, by all means, rush to the multiplex and buy a tic for Jason's Reitman's new flick. To be accurate, it's based on a book written by a woman, Joyce Maynard. But he gets the blame for bringing it to theaters.

Oh, where to start. Let's take Frank (Josh Brolin), a prison escapee who forces himself into Adele's (Kate Winslet) life. Yeah, he's a little dangerous. But he can also bake a mean peach pie though we never learn why he's a primo chef. But then, there's nothing Frank can't do. He fixes everything in Adele's fixer-upper of a house, and that includes her son, who he teaches all the manly skills from changing a tire to hitting a baseball.

Frank and Adele spend one glorious weekend together. Guess which one.

To be fair, there are moments when the movie meanders out of its calcified mold and you wonder if Frank might actually be dangerous. Alas, those moment are fleeting.

Warning: This film may cause retching, particularly in those with XY chromosomes.