As a film about old friends and rivals attending a 10-year high school reunion, 10 Years doesn’t really break any new ground, nor does it try to do so. What it does do for its 100 minutes is provide audiences with a solid, entertaining piece of filmmaking. Thanks to an excellent cast and a script that gives equal, honest weight to the whole range of emotions and scenarios that people might imagine when they think about high school reunions, the film is engrossing, enjoyable, and at all times feels genuine in its sentiment.
Channing Tatum leads the cast of 10 Years as Jake, the one-time “Prom King” of his class, who comes to this reunion with his longtime girlfriend Jess (played by real-life wife Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and more than a little anxiety about possibly running into his high school flame, Mary (Rosario Dawson). Jake loves Jess completely, but there are, of course, unresolved questions with Mary.
Then there’s Cully and Sam (Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor), the jock and the cheerleader who got married, had kids, and settled into adult life without Cully ever really having grown up. Cully’s made it his mission that night to apologize to everyone he ever bullied back in the day, while Sam just wants to enjoy a night without having to take care of kids.
Also, there’s Reeves (Oscar Isaac), the shy guy who became a major recording star after graduation, coming back and having to deal with now being “famous”, and old friends/rivals AJ (Max Minghella) and Marty (Justin Long), who fall back into routine when they wager on who can go home that night with their class’s one-time hottest girl, Anna (Lynn Collins). As the night goes on and the drinks keep coming, all of these hopes, fears, and agendas come together, some taking hilarious and painfully awkward turns, and as you might expect, nothing goes quite the way the characters imagined it would.
It all might sound generic and “thirty-something-ish”, but thanks to a script by writer and first-time director Jamie Linden (We Are Marshall, Dear John) that avoids over-the-top sentimentality and grants each of its characters opportunities to escape being stock stereotypes, the film itself transcends those simple definitions. Due to a very deliberate minimalist approach to the shoot, the film has a intimate, art house feel to it which works in its favor–it comes off as earnest, rather than pretentious. The whole cast shines, but watch out especially for a memorable performance by actor Oscar Isaac (Drive, Robin Hood), who wrote the song his character Reeves performs during one of the film’s sweetest moments.
Score: 4 out of 5
10 Years
Starring Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Justin Long, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Chris Pratt, Ari Graynor, Scott Porter, Kate Mara, and Rosario Dawson. Directed by Jamie Linden.
Running Time: 100 minutes
Rated PG-13 for language, alcohol abuse, some sexual material and drug use.