Movie Review: Not much to warm to in 'Cold Feet'

Faux documentary based on bestselling novel fails to convince.

By HANNAH BROWN
cold feet 248.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
cold feet 248.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
COLD FEET * * Directed by Doron Eran. Written by Ofer Caspi. 85 minutes. Hebrew title: Regli'im Karot. In Hebrew. Let's say you were going to make a movie about a bride who gets the jitters and can't go through with her wedding. If you had three seconds to decide on a title, you'd probably call it Cold Feet. And there you have this unimaginative film. Although it is not unpleasant, it plays like an extended student film. The film, based on a bestselling novel by Uri Edelman, is done in faux documentary style. It cuts back and forth between a Tel Aviv wedding hall and a café. At the wedding, Omer the groom (Ron Shachar) greets friends and family nervously, as he wonders, where is Roni, his bride (Hila Vidor)? He consults his divorced parents and a couple he knows who seem to have a good marriage. Then we see the woman from the couple run into an old lover who's bartending at the event. They have a bathroom quickie in one of those more-movie-than-real-life incidents. The bride, it turns out, is sitting in the café, wearing her wedding dress. It's almost closing time and Shai (Zion Baruch) and Iris (Iris Pen), the waiters, are trying to get her to leave. She persuades them to make her more coffee, then astounds the two by showing them the invitation to her own wedding. Shai and Iris try to understand why Roni is hiding. The two waiters, the liveliest characters in the movie, have a flirtatious relationship. But they aren't yet a couple, though Iris would very much like them to be. As they quiz Roni as to her cold feet, Iris is scandalized: If the groom-to-be is so handsome, sweet and smart, why isn't Roni going to marry him? But Shai is more understanding, telling Roni, "You don't have to marry someone you don't love." A bit of tension develops between the two, much to Iris' dismay. As the café conversation goes on, Omer wanders the streets encountering various strangers. In one, a cop is about to bust him for smoking pot in his car, then melts when he learns the reason for Omer's need of a joint. Arnon Tzadok makes a brief cameo as the cop. Omer tracks down Roni's roommate, who tells him that Roni doesn't really want to marry. She just went along to please everyone. Fair enough, but the revelation doesn't have enough depth to be interesting. The characters simply aren't distinctive enough to sustain this slight story. Eventually, of course, Omer and Roni's paths will cross. It's just a question of when and where but it's hard to imagine that most viewers will care. But like Iris (the best acted of all the characters who seems most real), viewers will wonder what Roni's problem is. By the end, the bride seems like a spoiled, petulant child - not an alluring free spirit. Cold Feet, while well acted and occasionally funny, seems as pointless as the bride's behavior.