Julianne Hough (Safe Haven,Rock of Ages) stars here as Lamb, who has survived a small plane crash, which killed her fiancé, but left her disfigured with burns all over her body. She along with her mother (Holly Hunter) and father (Nick Offerman) belong to an ultra orthodox Christian sect, where things like dating, dancing, smoking, drinking, or even cutting one's hair are prohibited.
After Lamb wins a multi-million dollar settlement from her accident, she decides to renounce God in front of her church members, in the small town of Blakesley, Montana.
She has decided to travel to Las Vegas with the intent of trying all the things she's been denied all these years. In Vegas, she meets William, a bartender in the rather rundown Hi-Lo Room. William is ably portrayed by Russell Brand, who adds quite a bit of comic relief to the film. Also, she meets Loray, a not so great singer played by the wonderful actress Octavia Spencer, who's also a friend of William's. Together they take a liking to Lamb and act as her "guardian angels", so she doesn't go too far over-the-top in her experimentations.
It all seems like a decent premise with a strong cast. However, the film to me seems to bog down in clichéd melodrama and just never rings true. It also, for whatever reason, seems to be going down a checklist of ethnicities to make sure there's a remark made about each one of them. Additionally, the movie misses few opportunities to show us Lamb's disfigured skin. Finally, one scene in which Lamb gives a large amount of money to a prostitute in a club restroom seemed, to me, totally ridiculous.
Overall, I thought the film had its' moments but they were outweighed by non-believable and clichéd plot elements. A disappointment from the writer and director Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult), in my opinion.
After Lamb wins a multi-million dollar settlement from her accident, she decides to renounce God in front of her church members, in the small town of Blakesley, Montana.
She has decided to travel to Las Vegas with the intent of trying all the things she's been denied all these years. In Vegas, she meets William, a bartender in the rather rundown Hi-Lo Room. William is ably portrayed by Russell Brand, who adds quite a bit of comic relief to the film. Also, she meets Loray, a not so great singer played by the wonderful actress Octavia Spencer, who's also a friend of William's. Together they take a liking to Lamb and act as her "guardian angels", so she doesn't go too far over-the-top in her experimentations.
It all seems like a decent premise with a strong cast. However, the film to me seems to bog down in clichéd melodrama and just never rings true. It also, for whatever reason, seems to be going down a checklist of ethnicities to make sure there's a remark made about each one of them. Additionally, the movie misses few opportunities to show us Lamb's disfigured skin. Finally, one scene in which Lamb gives a large amount of money to a prostitute in a club restroom seemed, to me, totally ridiculous.
Overall, I thought the film had its' moments but they were outweighed by non-believable and clichéd plot elements. A disappointment from the writer and director Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult), in my opinion.