Love at First Hiccup (2009)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I wanted to but couldn't!

Best movie ever!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Love At First Hiccup seemed like a very good movie when I saw the trailers for it. It seemed like it would be like a classic, wholesome family movie, specifically generated for kids. Unfortunately I was wrong. This movie has all the right things in all the wrong places. The pacing is horribly sporadic, the acting is harshly unforgiving, the filming looks like it was done by the two kids in the movie who -are- filming a movie, and it seeed that they could never figure out who their intended target was, and ended up alienating all except those who enjoy awkward and perverse humor, The trailers made it seem like a kids movie, it was overly vulgar, with way too much reference to sexual activity, and acceptance of it as a culturally acceptable past time...This is officially not a kids movie. I don't remember laughing even once during this entire movie. If the main character had acted the same way he did in his Nickelodeon TV show, I think it actually could have been kind of cute. Unfortunately, he did not, instead making every scene he was in awkward, which, occasionally is OK as it was an intentional thing, but every scene, even when he is with his friends is just ridiculous and doesn't make him seem cute so much as simply annoying. None of the characters had any appeal to them AT ALL, and some of the 'humor' relied too much on people's stupidity for even a kid to think 'Ooh that's realistic and funny because they didn't notice what was right in front of their faces or look to the side for a moment since no character in this movie has any peripheral vision..' All in all, this movie was a chore to watch,and I would have graded it lower, but I figured I'd give it a little bit of credit for being like any gruesome train wreck and not letting me take my eyes away until the end, and I will admit that it did have a few cute moments.

The best thing about Love at First Hiccup (also titled as The First Time) is that anyone who appreciates good movies will know within the first five minutes that it's a terrible movie. Unlike an indie film which might take you a half an hour before to realize it's not worth watching, Hiccup/First Time lays its cards on the table right away with shallow characters, lousy dialog, and horrible jokes.Hiccup/First Time has the acting quality and production values of a movie made for Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel. It might seem that this was the film's target market except Hiccup/First Time has a sprinkling of crass lines and R rated language which seem particularly stupid in a movie that's less entertaining than an episode of iCarly.The one bright spot in Hiccup/First Time is Ray Wise whose performance as the father of the main character's object of desire is excellent. Wise provides the only moments worth smiling at. But Wise's very small role can't help a film which is mostly obvious, boring, or makes you embarrassed to be part of the same species that would make a movie like Hiccup/First Time.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. No single performance stands out. This film captures and completes it's purpose, which is love at first sight. Young love at first sight that is. Too many times today can this simple concept be manipulated into something that it is not. Excellent dorky, nervous, yet cute and very endearing portrayal by Devon. Scout remains beautiful, and grounded, while remaining sweet and sincere.I love how they are such opposite sides of the spectrum within the film, yet find they relate way more than they initially thought (without revealing any spoilers of course). Overall, I think this is a fine romantic comedy. With great supporting roles, and an overall puppy love feel, this is one of the best of the genre I have seen in a long while.

Alright, another Hollywoodnized version of something that was famous abroad. But honestly, this time Hollywood actually managed to pull it off well enough. Usually I am not keen on the Hollywood attempts to cash in on famous movies from outside the US; like they did on "Ringu" (The Ring), "Rec" (Quarantine), "Infernal Affairs" (The Departed), and the list goes on and on.I grew up with the actual book by Dennis Jürgensen (titled: "Kærlighed Ved Første Hik"), yeah I am from Denmark. And the book also spawned a Danish version, and five sequels as well, which I now wonder if Hollywood will covert into American version as well. Regardless, this Hollywood version of the book/Danish film was actually good, and it had all the essentials from the former.The story is a sweet love story with teens, and there is a good amount of embarrassing moments in it and at times you will be laughing out loud. I especially love the doorbell scene, it is awesome. And Scout Taylor-Compton, playing Anya (though her name is Anja in the Danish versions), actually looked a lot like the woman playing her part in the Danish version, so that was kind of cool. And Devon Werkheiser, playing Victor, actually looks a lot like a friend of mine back from my teen years, so that was hilarious.The cast in "The First Time" (or "Love at First Hicup", if you will) was actually good and put on good performances. However, I found the guy who played Anya's dad to come off a bit like he wasn't in it with his heart. I forgot his name, sorry about that.Having seen this American version actually made me want to pick up the Danish book and read it again. Always cool when you get to relive your early years, and this movie made me want to go back in time. So, I think this movie is worth checking out, because it has a sweet, romantic story to tell, and you will be thoroughly amused and entertained throughout the entire movie.