There’s lots of snappy, engaging, witty dialogue in “Chocolate for Breakfast.” Lots and lots of snappy, engaging, witty dialogue. In fact, so much of the film is devoted to snappy, engaging, witty dialogue that everything else, namely the story, becomes subservient to the writing. Writer (with Brooke Hailey)/director Emily Bær lets us in on the lives of four cardboard cutout characters, er, attractive young women who are out of college and struggling to gain traction in their respective lives. One’s, a – say it with me now – Wall Street up and comer throwing it all away to become a single mom. Another’s a slacker with a knack for mural painting. The third’s a paralegal with law school ambitions and the fourth can’t buy either a boyfriend or an orgasm. Four “threads,” no plot.
Someone during the post-screening Q&A gushed that the film was like a “Friends” episode. That was in my notes, too, but I didn’t necessarily mean it as a compliment. Movies, unlike TV sitcoms, need to hold your interest for longer than 26 minutes and it takes more than this film’s
admittedly good dialogue to do that.
Just like chocolate for breakfast, this film was primarily just empty calories.
