Main character's bad hair distracted me through the entire movie which wasn't hard since the acting was poor and the story itself was same overplayed thing seem a million times.
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yollya16 June 2018
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thekarmicnomad18 February 2018A woman only dates men for 6 months, some guy is persuaded to try and seduce her. He falls for her then, for a laugh, they wreck loads of his friends relationships.
This is basically a twist on Never Been Kissed - which I am ok with - but it lacks in most areas.
The leads are especially weak here. I like Thora Birch but she is really badly cast here. She hasn't got enough warmth to carry this off - Chris Klien gives the most wooden performance I have seen since Phantom Menace.
The morals of the plot are a bit twisted, It is hard to feel good for the characters when it all comes to a head.
Bland, unemotional with no pzazz! -
swannybabe2330 July 2019Listen, it isn't the best romantic comedy but it's good enough to watch once. I haven't seen those main actors in a long time so it made it easier to watch. Yes, the directing is a little off but I thought the acting was ok. Thora is suppose to play a cold monotone person but other viewers see her differently. The movie had a lot of potential but I don't think it's because of the actors. Anyways, just watch it because you always have to see for yourself.
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cleo_specter12 September 2018Wow is the acting wooden as hell in this!!! Thora Birch is in one of my fav movies....Now and then, Ghost world...to name but a few. But she is AWFUL in this, emotionless, monotone, and so wooden and stilted. Each scene is overly long with boring dialogue. It would look out of date if it was filmed in the early 2000's. and the stock background music is so overwhelmingly abused in every single scene it makes my ears bleed, i actually dont think there is a single scene in this movie that doesnt have background music! its so unnecessary and cheapens the film even more than the writing and acting does, and thats saying something. There is no chemistry between Birch and Klein...none whatsoever. Birch acts like she doesnt even want the paycheck from this movie...
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amyvsings26 August 2019The acting in this film is just HORRIBLE. Plus hair/makeup/wardrobe budget must have been non-existent. Thora's bad hair was a distraction the entire film. It's obvious the two lead characters would NEVER be together in real life. I only watched this because the two lead actors were in some of my favorite films from my teens. What a disappointment
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Ed-Shullivan7 August 2018Of all the very boring films I have watched I can usually say something positive about the film. This is a first. Or, as in this film's title, "The Competition", this film comes in absolutely last in my opinion. Do not waste your time it is so boring. I would rather suffer from diarrhea than have to listen any longer to this dribble dialogue.
Save your valuable time, go read even a bad book on the John, than watch this stinkfest.
I have to give it a 1 out of 10 rating as this is the minimum mandatory IMDB rating. In truth, I would have paid money to someone who could have forewarned me not to watch this crap. I mean real boring crap! -
Terrible from the script to the acting and editing. That stupid constant monotonous background music was horrible. People who made this movie should never ever have a career. These mofos introduced a Spanish "exotic" character whose spoke Italian ffs. There are no Alejandros in Italy only Alessandros.
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Saw-it-on-Tubi6 January 2019The leads have no chemistry, and the plot is ridiculous in all the wrong ways. There is nothing in this movie that is not done better by another film.
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JoeytheBrit5 May 2020Thora Birch's comeback movie after a six-year break is a slight, lightweight rom-com that might raise an occasional smile but is completely lacking when it comes to laughs. She's a blogger whose love-life is dictated by a formula which lawyer Chris Klein attempts to disprove by testing the fidelity of five of his friends. A movie with no purpose other than to fill time.
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socrates416 April 2019THE COMPETITION is a romantic comedy of the worst kind. And for a guy who doesn't particularly care for the genre to begin with, I sure seem to find myself sitting through more than my fair share of them. But this one takes the cake in terms of just how awful it truly was.
There are a few relatively decent laughs here, and I feel like the writer at least started with a nearly coherent idea, so that's what kept be from giving it a lower score than I did. But the acting is bad, the directing is bad, and overall the story just falls apart before it even gets going. It's embarrassing. Even hardcore rom-com fans will find themselves hard-pressed to find much good in this film. Do not recommend. -
jamesdwatsonsr1 August 2019I think this is a great movie. I've learned not to listen to all the negative reviews of movies.
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sissy3006-179-64045411 August 2019All I can say Chris Klein gets the 6 rating unfortunately his Co-star Thora Birch, she should stay behind the camera with her p.g.a after producer, story line wasn't to bad. But damn the acting was horrible
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Of all of the zany ideas for Hollywood romantic comedies, this one has to be one of the strangest.
A couple, Calvin and Lauren, falls in love, but the relationship is built around an infidelity competition. The couple will test their best friends who will be seduced by a stranger. If the majority of the guinea pigs reject the seduction and remain faithful, then Calvin and Lauren will remain permanently in their relationship. But if the test subjects succumb to their lust, then the Calvin-Lauren relationship will end in six months. What a bummer of a compact for an interpersonal relationship?
After setting out this inane premise, the filmmakers do not even execute it very well. The comedy should have been based on the five competitions where the five couples are tested. But as we approached the "last" test for Calvin's friend Jacob, I had only counted three previous tests that had taken place. Either the filmmakers goofed and forgot one of the five tests...or I lost interest somewhere along the way...or both!
The film had a spark of potential because the two leads had some chemistry at those rare moments when they were not obsessing on their competition. Still, Chris Klein overacted his role of Calvin, while Thora Birch underacted her interpretation of Lauren. It was as if Klein was back in one of his "American Pie" farces, while Birch was recycling her moody daughter character in "American Beauty."
There is earlier film called "The Competition" from 1980, which is about the rivalry of two concert pianists. That film involves a real competition, it includes some light-hearted moments, and it is still an eminently watchable film today. Unfortunately, the more recent competition film included some lovely footage of Portland, Oregon, but never rose to the level of either a memorable romance or a comedy. -
dannytwogm26 June 2018The script is terrible, hair is distractingly bad, bad over acting. The only redeeming quality is the cinematography.
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wschool-7562430 May 2018Bland forced acting. Annoying characters. Terrible casting.
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PennyReviews20 April 2020The competition had some interesting premisses, but it failed to become even entertaining. The main couple were a couple because, well, the plot said so. They had zero chemistry and zero meaning together. When did they even date? The leading lady's hair was simply awful as well, kind of distracting too. The big deal about the blog was simply idiotic too. I mean, she was being offered a huge amount of money to write a book, what was wrong with writing what she was already writing for free anyway? The ending was terrible too.
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nuitgoddess12 August 2019The only reason I watched this movie all the way through is because I love Portland, OR. Good movie for the super highly idealistic.
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wisp_err18 May 2018I enjoyed the whole film, but its the sort of film that will be publicly polarising.
I like the direction and humour of where it could go, but my biggest issue is that the character narratives were lacking to make them believable. If they were both thirty-somethings that were single, they should be demonstrating more emotional baggage or brittleness.
Calvin, while playing true to the actors previous success, is understandable as a twenty-something blind romantic optimist (punching bag), but as a thirty-something character he lacks depth and complexity. Emotionally it never fully justifies why he was single. Work and right person are superficial excuses that deflect something deeper. His approach to proposing the challenge seems oddly childish and cruel especially since his reputation was seen as a successful negotiator and advocate. IMO nice guys eventually change, they either get bitter (magnets for trouble), or become more cautious, or they become wise. Also his loyalty to Jacob seemed odd. The justification for Gena and Calvin continued platonic friendship seemed lacking. Overall Calvin seemed two dimensional and immature.
Its one thing for Lauren to be a guarded character, but the story never emotionally justifies the reason for her to develop the PIG theory and the reason to practice and commit to it. 2 million followers might seem relevant to some people, but it does not seem compatible with her character. A person obsessed with social media would express more attachment to their online profile. The logical "self-evident fact" of PIG seems emotionally lacking with conviction, especially after she practices it for 3 years yet changes her heart for Calvin. Also it never justifies why she wishes for things to be different with Calvin or what Calvin offers that no other person did previously. On occasion Lauren seems bratty and insecure twenty-something, instead of a driven thirty-something character. Overall Lauren seemed incomplete.
Also Gena character and her continued reasoning to change Lauren seems vague at best.
Personally, I would have added a scene that where Jacob, Lauren and Calvin are arguing. Calvin argues something idealistic. Jacob and Lauren are pragmatic and disagree with Calvin. Jacob recognises a kindred in Lauren and expresses conflict of attraction vs loyalty. Lauren recognises that Calvin is someone she can trust or someone that inspires her to change for the better.
Also IMO both characters should be workaholics. As both research scientists and lawyers work stupidly excessive hours (80+ hrs a week). It seems odd that they could have so much free time for their personal relationship.
The acting was good. Thora's portrayal was nuanced (conflicted, brittle and guarded) that was suitable for the role. Was happy with the acting of the minor characters, they helped to enhance the protagonists (by being generic). I thought that Chris Klein (or the director) could have pushed himself more and experimented, I kept having flash backs of Chris in their other previous film roles. I think both of the main actors were good and hope to see them progress further in their craft in future projects.
Overall film it was an average film that was personally enjoyable but not for everyone. -
kristinafailla-544-87317018 September 2019What in the Sam freaking heck is uP WITH THE MUSIC IN THIS MOVIE as if anything couldn't be more distracting throw in the main characters hair. Did they even try to style it??? She needs to deep condition her hair poor thing I can't believe she did a movie with it looking like that. This acting makes me cringe. Goodbye
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friholio11 August 2018It was fun to see Thora Birch and Chris Klein back in action in this Portland-based rom-com. Birch's smart, self-assured acting style is a nice complement to Klein's natural good-guy vibe. The sight gag where Lauren trips and drops out frame just after meeting Calvin, leaving her umbrella suspended in mid-air, is a fun piece of camera work and helps to set the light, goofy tone of the film. The PIG Theory (Point of Infidelity and Guilt) is cynical and clearly rooted in more than just numbers, so Calvin has his work cut out for him when tasked by Gena to intervene in Lauren's career path. Their chemistry is immediate, they soon strike a bargain, and shenanigans ensue. Some of the supporting characters add real spark and depth, including a radiant Claire Coffee as Lauren's long-suffering and protective sister Gena, Kelsey Tucker as amusingly harried have-it-all career mom Sharon, and the scene-stealing David Blue as Jacob. The central contest of the film is pretty mean-spirited, but of course you know Calvin and Lauren will learn some important life lessons and things will work out for them in the end. You can't boil everything down to a scientific formula.
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scubafiend24 June 2018I'll start by saying I'm NOT a fan of Thora Birch in anything since she grew up, so that was a challenge right off the bat. Her "acting" in Dungeons and Dragons sank that film all by itself! I watched 40 minutes of The Competition despite her being a very wooden actor because I thought it was a cute, frothy concept and I really like Claire Coffee ever since I watched her in Grimm. But as others have noted, whoever did Hair, Makeup, and Wardrobe was inept or asleep at the wheel and I found it, along with the wooden acting by Birch, too much to get past to make it to the end of the film. I have no complaints about the other actors except perhaps her Mother's boyfriend who I found smarmy but maybe that is the point - can't say. But visually Birch's clothes were so ugly and unattractive and her hair - what is that about? The makeup was no better.
The guys (except as previous noted) seemed genuine and believable. Their interactions were honest and their acting was good - no complaints there. Claire Coffee was good as always! I think it could have been a nice RomCom had the casting of the female lead been better and the hair/makeup/wardrobe not been a fail. Mind you - I'm not saying Birch isn't pretty enough or even that the female lead has to be pretty because she doesn't. But these failures were a distraction on top of her poor acting in every scene that made me completely turn off of her character which made it impossible for me to watch the rest of the film. -
reneeinthebox26 July 2019This movie is bad. It's just so very bad. During their meet-cute, they spend ten minutes talking about the scienctific theorem behind the "perfect pizza" and repeat those words ad nauseam.
Thora Birch used to be a great actress. I grew up watching her, which is probably why this movie offends me. I expect more from her. Chris Klein on the other hand has always been a one note character. The only disappointing thing about his stale acting was his receding hairline. This movie was poorly cast to say the least. Perhaps younger fresher actors would have been able to make it more watchable but it was doomed to be bad regardless. -
McBadPants16 October 2019The acting: no The script: No The jokes: NO!
The ONLY reason I sat through this monstrosity and gave it an extra star is because I love the cast.
Also, is it named The Competition or The (Pig) Theory Inc? -
I'm not too picky. I like Hallmark movies that have shallow plots and bad acting. When I watch something like this, I'm looking for the same old formulaic story line. Girl meets boy and they fall in love, have some sort of conflict, then ultimately end up together. But this movie was just SO bad.
And I wasn't going to say anything about the hair and makeup because it seems petty and something that you shouldn't care about, but man, it is distracting. And once I saw others felt that way too, I wanted to mention it. The hair is especially very bad on Lauren, the main character.
The lead actors don't have chemistry and the lead male is so unlikeable I found myself rooting against the two main characters! And the very last epiphany scene where he sobers up- it's just so unrealistic!
If you're going to watch this movie, just be warned it's time waster.