First Love. Tingles effervesce from the heart. Suddenly your life is on the radio captured sappy love songs.
The dozen red roses at the front desk have your name scribbled on the little card. Valentine’s Day no longer reeks of chocolate and overflowing with annoying stuffed teddy bears that say I love you. You skip to class even though your face is numb with frostbite-and then you wake up drinking her shampoo.
Told in retrospect by two graduates of the school of first love Imogen, (Julia Stiles) and Al Connelly (Freddie Prinze, Jr.) retell their story of love found, lost and found again. As the newest addition to Blockbuster’s Romantic Comedy section, Down to You serves only to entertain an audience of hopeless romantics looking for Mr. or Ms. Right on the silver screen.
Set in New York City, the film creates a charming story of two college students finding each other. Sparks fly from the moment Al spouts a cheesy pick-up line at the jukebox of a happening little dive. Imogen entertains grand notions of remaining single. After meeting Al all hope is lost.
The modern version of a Victorian courtship begins. Al, the future gourmet chef, and Imogen, the aspiring artist, spend every waking and sleeping moment together. They go out for dinner, meet his parents and even manage to pick a theme song. Unlike the rest of the world whose song originates in chance happenings, Imogen and Al spend an afternoon searching each other’s CD collections for “their” song. Settling on a classic, Imogen breaks out into Al Greene’s “Let’s Stay Together,” strutting about with no concern for the room full of spectators. What’s a love story without a little serenade?
As expected Al and Imogen’s perfect world of after-sex cake and Sunday dinners crashes to reality. Life enters the equation. Imogen spends the summer in France and she returns to find things with Al less than golden. Lovesick Al seeks consolation from Monk (Zac Orth), a philosophical porn star. In their frequent walks through an inner city park, Monk tries to convince Al that the tingles always fade and that love is just not worth it. Al continues blindly down the toilet bowl of heartache. Meanwhile, the idea of couplehood sends Imogen running to other distractions. The prospect of marriage and a pregnancy scare are too much for the blonde vixen to handle.
According to Imogen, when college kids can’t handle life, they party. Sadly, Imogen’s prescription for happiness backfires. Temptation strikes both lovebirds at one of Monk’s fancy parties. Imogen falls victim to Jim Morrison’s (Ashton Kutcher of “That 70s Show”) drunken attempts to embody the rock icon. Al’s temptress, Cyrus (Selma Blair), is also hungry-for pancakes, that is. However, the morning after blame falls upon Imogen, the newest member of the Jim Morrison fan club.
Disaster strikes. Imogen runs to San Francisco to escape the thought of Al. Al remains in New York City to finish school, but life isn’t the same without Imogen. He flunks out of French cuisine school, no longer finds comfort in old friends and spends his evenings talking to a spider. A man will do strange things when his heart has been ripped out and beaten with a meat tenderizer. In a moment of weakness, Al believes that drinking Imogen’s shampoo will solve all his problems. Ironically, he is not far from the truth.
To beef up Al’s morale his parents throw a party for Al and his friends. Conveniently in town on business, Imogen arrives as an unexpected guest. Together they walk away the night reminiscing and rekindling the tingles.
