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Amy Adams and Matthew Goode have the charm necessary to float a romantic comedy like "Leap Year," and this is a story that needs their buoyancy. A sort of conspiracy forms between the audience and the screen: We know what has to happen, and the movie knows what has to happen, and the point is to keep us amused. "Leap Year" does better than that: It made me care. It does that by not being too obvious about what it is obviously trying to do.

Let's start off on the same page. A sweet but over-organized young woman named Anna (Amy Adams) has been dating a high-powered heart surgeon named Jeremy ( Adam Scott ) for four years. He's pleasant, attentive, presentable and shares her goal of buying a condo in the best building in Boston. He does nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong. For veteran filmgoers, he has one fatal flaw: He has a healthy head of hair, and every strand is perfectly in place. No modern movie hero can have his hair combed.

When, oh, when, will Jeremy ask Anna to marry her? After dashing her hopes yet again, he hurries off to Dublin for a cardiologists' convention, because as we all know, it's a professional necessity for cardiologists to meet in faraway places they're always wanting to go. Anna is told that in Ireland on Leap Day every four years, a woman can ask a man to marry her. Anna double-checks this on the Web, somehow not discovering that this is believed nearly everywhere, and if for instance a man on Denmark turned her down, he would have to buy her pairs of gloves.

Anna flies off to Ireland. The flight lasts only long enough for her to survive severe turbulence. The plane is diverted to Cardiff. Is anyone surprised that Anna doesn't arrive in Dublin on schedule? Despite canceled ferry boats, she makes her way to Ireland by hiring a tugboat. The skipper says they can't land at Cork but must head for Dingle. Dingle in Ireland is more or less as far as you can get from Wales (or Dublin), but never mind.

We know what's coming. Anna must meet her co-star, Declan, played by Matthew Goode as the owner of the local pub. I suspect business has fallen off ever since Robert Mitchum left after filming " Ryan's Daughter " there in 1969. Anna is now wet and tired but still plucky. In the pub, she asks Declan how she can get to Dublin. Turns out Declan is not only the publican but the taxi driver and runs the local hotel. They get a good smile out of this, but wouldn't you be asking yourself why neither one mentions " Local Hero "?

OK, enough fooling with the plot. Let's agree it stays firmly on course, and that Anna and Declan argue all the way to Dublin through adventures that, by law, must include get getting all muddy and them being forced to share a bedroom together. Therefore, the success of the film depends on the acting and direction.

Amy Adams and Matthew Goode sell it with great negative chemistry and appeal. Adams has an ability to make things seem fresh and new; everything seems to be happening to her for the first time, and she has a particularly innocent sincerity that's convincing. (Who once said if you can fake sincerity, you can fake anything?) Goode is wisely not made too handsome. Oh, you could shoot him as handsome; he's good-looking, let's face it. But the director, Anand Tucker , shoots him as annoyed, rude and scruffy. Hair not too well combed.

Then take another look at Jeremy. I'm not going to say he's too handsome. All I have to say is that in a silent movie, he could simply walk on the screen and you'd know he's not going to get the girl. The movie carefully avoids making him a heavy. It's rather clever: He smoothly does more or less exactly what she's trained him to do, and what he doesn't understand is that she no longer believes in that version of himself.

Bottom line: This is a full-bore, PG-rated, sweet rom-com. It sticks to the track, makes all the scheduled stops and bears us triumphantly to the station. And it is populated by colorful characters, but then, when was the last time you saw a boring Irishman in a movie?

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Leap Year (2010)

Rated PG for sensuality and language

100 minutes

Amy Adams as Anna

John Lithgow as Jack

Adam Scott as Jeremy

Matthew Goode as Declan

Directed by

• Anand Tucker
• Harry Elfont
• Deborah Kaplan

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Movie Review | 'Leap Year'

Bridging Loneliness in Mexico City

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

• June 23, 2011

Making sadomasochism appear less erotic than stamp collecting, “Leap Year” is a slow flare of emotional agony. The prime sufferer is Laura (Mónica del Carmen), a freelance writer whom we first meet beneath the cold fluorescents of a supermarket in Mexico City. She is watching a man in the checkout line with a look of resigned yearning that will become very familiar.

As nondescript as her depressingly middling apartment — where we will remain for the duration of the film — Laura is painfully lonely. The one-night stands who leave quietly in the morning light are as unreachable as the contentedly cohabiting neighbors whose domestic bliss taunts her. But she is also strong and practical (when she loses one job, she immediately talks her way into another), and as adept at dealing with sexual frustration as with loss of income.

Enter Arturo (Gustavo Sánchez Parra), a quiet stud with a fighter’s body and a tendency to slap and spank. Coming alive for the first time, Laura eggs him on, and the film creates a lovely asymmetry between their increasingly dangerous coupling and postcoital coziness. We are unprepared, however, for the casual revelation that their sexual synchronicity may derive from very different places and be headed toward very different goals.

The first feature from the Australian-born, Mexico-based writer and director Michael Rowe, “Leap Year” shocks only with its candor and complete lack of dramatic manipulation. While Juan Mandel Sepulveda’s gorgeously textured photography adds warmth and shields against sterility, Mr. Rowe frames Laura’s extreme sexual behavior with the same detachment he applies to her eating habits and ritual calendar markings. There’s a reason she’s counting down the days to Feb. 29, but it is far less crucial to our appreciation of the film than to Laura’s appreciation of her life.

Opens on Friday in Manhattan.

Directed by Michael Rowe; written by Mr. Rowe and Lucia Carreras; director of photography, Juan Manuel Sepulveda; edited by Óscar Figueroa Jara; art direction by Alisarine Ducolomb; produced by Edher Campos and Luis Salinas; released by Strand Releasing. At the Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, East Village. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 34 minutes. This film is not rated.

WITH: Mónica del Carmen (Laura), Gustavo Sánchez Parra (Arturo) and Marco Zapata (Raul).

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Common sense media reviewers.

Tame but unimaginative romcom doesn't offer anything new.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Although the movie makes the worthwhile point that

Anna is very self-sufficient, but she comes off as

A guy gets into a fight with three bruisers who st

Three couples of various ages share stories about

"Hell," "damn," "idiot&ld

Anna is label conscious, and much is made of her L

A woman gets tipsy at a wedding reception; also so

Parents need to know that this upbeat but shallow romcom hews closely to traditional Hollywood formulas. While there isn't much in the way of age-inappropriate content for older tweens and teens -- who may find the banter between stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode somewhat amusing -- the movie does tap into tired…

Positive Messages

Although the movie makes the worthwhile point that women don’t have to sit and wait for their boyfriends to propose -- that they're in command of their own destinies -- it still pretty much hews to Hollywood's standard boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl, boy-loses-girl, couple-is-reunited fairy-tale structure.

Positive Role Models

Anna is very self-sufficient, but she comes off as kind of brittle, as if she just needs the "right guy“ to bring out her warmer side. Declan seems walled up -- like he's also waiting for the "right girl“ to make him feel safe enough to take a chance on love.

Violence & Scariness

A guy gets into a fight with three bruisers who steal a woman’s luggage.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Three couples of various ages share stories about love and relationships; each tale ends with a kiss. A woman’s naked silhouette is shown behind a shower curtain.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"Hell," "damn," "idiot“ and "jackass“ are about as rough as it gets. A couple of uses of "for God's sake."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Anna is label conscious, and much is made of her Louis Vuitton luggage.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A woman gets tipsy at a wedding reception; also social drinking at a pub, where one regular keels over from inebriation (it's played for humor -- but, parents, remind kids that getting drunk isn't funny!).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this upbeat but shallow romcom hews closely to traditional Hollywood formulas. While there isn't much in the way of age-inappropriate content for older tweens and teens -- who may find the banter between stars Amy Adams and Matthew Goode somewhat amusing -- the movie does tap into tired stereotypes about men, women, and romance. Adams' character is supposed to be seen as self-sufficient, but she ultimately comes off as yet another Hollywood female character who's just waiting for "the right one" to make everything right in her life. On the up side, language, sex, and violence are quite tame. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (15)
• Kids say (23)

Based on 15 parent reviews

Fine, but not for kids. Some kids could possibly watch it

Good movie but..., what's the story.

When her longtime boyfriend, Jeremy ( Adam Scott ), fails to propose before flying off to a medical conference in Dublin, Anna ( Amy Adams ) decides to take matters into her own hands. Leap Day (the 29th of February) is imminent, and the Irish apparently have a custom in which women can ask their boyfriends for their hand in marriage on that particular day. But a storm undoes her best-laid plans, and a detour lands her in beautiful but far-off Dingle. She hopes to get to the city in time by enlisting a broody local named Declan ( Matthew Goode) as her guide ... but he may just prove too intriguing for her to resist.

Is It Any Good?

Armchair tourists will find some good in this bland romantic comedy thanks to breathtaking shots of the Emerald Isle that will surely have them fantasizing about a visit. But there's not much else going for LEAP YEAR. How a stew featuring the appealing Adams, the magnetic Goode, and lyrical director Anand Tucker (who also helmed Hilary and Jackie and Shopgirl ) fails to generate any sparks is beyond comprehension. ( John Lithgow even makes a cameo.) What we get instead is an uninspired romcom that steps into the genre's every well-worn tread.

Polar-opposite personalities, meet-cute setup, overwrought situations created expressly to showcase how both characters change as they get to know each other -- that's all here. And must the other guy always seem like such a stooge? What's missing is chemistry -- Adams and Goode seem more like siblings -- and inventive storytelling to keep us glued to our seats, even though we know that, yes, indeed, there will be a happily ever after.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what the film is saying about love and committment. Why does Anna want to marry Jeremy? Is she actually in love, or is she just ready to make a commitment and he happens to be the one she's with? What does that say about relationships?

Is Anna a positive role model for women? Is she dependent on relationships for happiness, or is she truly self sufficient?

How does this movie compare to other Hollywood romantic comedies? Is it a genre that's difficult to reinvent? If so, why?

Movie Details

• In theaters : January 8, 2010
• On DVD or streaming : May 4, 2010
• Cast : Amy Adams , John Lithgow , Matthew Goode
• Director : Anand Tucker
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Universal Pictures
• Genre : Comedy
• Run time : 100 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : sensuality and language
• Last updated : July 29, 2023

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Movie review: ‘Leap Year’

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The deeply unsettling, psychologically acute “Leap Year” (Ano Bisiesto) won writer-director Michael Rowe, an Australian living in Mexico, Cannes’ Camera d’Or prize for best first feature.

Lowe and his co-writer Lucia Carreras wisely take their time establishing the character of Laura (Monica Del Carmen), a freelance journalist living and working in a Mexico City apartment. Laura is dark-skinned, pretty and desperately lonely; the sight of the uninhibited young couple across the way fills her with longing.

Most every night she hits up the bars and brings home a man for what invariably proves to be a one-night stand — until she connects with Arturo (Gustavo Sanchez Parra) at her most vulnerable. Arturo, a lean, good-looking aspiring actor, proves an aggressive lover, and Laura responds so strongly that he’s eager for more. What ensues is a series of graphic, increasingly intense sadomasochistic encounters that brings a dark secret within Laura to the surface.

“Leap Year” recalls Nagisa Oshima’s controversial “In the Realm of the Senses,” but Rowe heads in a different direction, subtly playing up the social and political implications of the story. It’s not for nothing that Laura looks indigenous while Arturo appears to be Spanish, but then appearances are not necessarily what they seem in this picture.

Not only must Lowe have inspired great commitment on the part of his actors, his trust in the visual power of the image is made evident by his decision to shoot almost entirely on a single set.

“Leap Year” might be too much for some audiences, but it is a potent and surprising work.

“Leap Year.” No MPAA rating. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes. At the Sunset 5.

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Leap Year: movie review

‘Leap Year’ is a comfy fantasy whose final destination is obvious.

• By Peter Rainer Film critic

January 8, 2010

Amy Adams is such a likable actress that she makes the romantic comedy “ Leap Year ” worth watching even though we’ve seen it all before. The trick to these films is making our ride as enjoyable as possible even though the final destination is obvious.

In the case of “Leap Year,” however, everything is obvious. Adams plays Anna, a real estate trendoid who has been waiting four years for her Boston cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy ( Adam Scott ) to propose. Finally she hatches a plan: Taking advantage of an old Irish custom that permits women to propose to men on Leap Day, she trails Jeremy to a Dublin medical meeting. But bad weather waylays her and she’s forced to hire a surly innkeeper, Declan ( Matthew Goode ), to motor her across the Irish wilds to Dublin.

Guess what happens? Writer-director Anand Tucker isn’t very subtle about stacking the deck. Jeremy is an officious prig and Declan’s jaundiced eye rapidly turns misty. As he and Anna fight and fume their way across the countryside, we’re meant to chuckle at their disparities. He’s homespun and she’s a fashion setter. Our biggest belly laugh is supposed to come when she accidentally digs her expensive high heels into a cowpat. If you find this sort of thing funny, by all means make haste to “Leap Year.”

The movie being set in Ireland , the filmmakers can’t resist piling on the blarney. There’s a fine line between blarney and baloney, though, and Tucker crosses it repeatedly. I suppose it’s a relief that, for a change, we have a movie set in Ireland that’s not about the Troubles. Still, this sort of barfly and brogue business might have given even John Ford pause. I kept waiting for leprechauns.

The chick-flick retroness of this movie could end up working in its favor commercially. Anna may be a highly successful career woman but, deep down, of course, her career means nothing to her. What she really wants is a dreamy Irish dreamer. If Jeremy had been shown to be a caring physician instead of a money-grubbing prig, this film’s game plan might have been revealed as the sham it is. “Leap Year” is a corporate-era, back-to-nature scenario. Basically, it’s saying that the only way to find yourself is in the moors. It’s a comfy fantasy and Adams gives it a lyrical lilt, but in the real world, the sequel to this film would probably have Anna and Declan stepping around lots of cowpats.

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• DVD & Streaming
• Comedy , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

• January 8, 2010
• Amy Adams as Anna; Matthew Goode as Declan; Adam Scott as Jeremy; John Lithgow as Jim

Home Release Date

• May 4, 2010
• Anand Tucker

Distributor

• Universal Pictures

Movie Review

Anna’s life is like a well-ordered BlackBerry. Every detail has its place, time and purpose. Her professional life as a stager—setting up apartments to secure their optimum sales potential—is balanced and lucrative. Her social goal to be accepted into the most exclusive apartment community in the area is happening as planned. And her romance with Jeremy, a cardiologist, is purring along perfectly.

Well … maybe not perfectly . Jeremy’s been dragging his feet about the—ahem—marriage thing. And every time he shows up with a jewelry box in his hand it ends up being silly old diamond earrings or some other such foolishness.

This kind of lame execution is not worthy of a smartphone soldier such as Anna. And, frankly, it’s getting pretty frustrating.

Then Anna’s dad reminds her of a romantic Irish tradition that a great aunt once availed herself of: Every leap year on February 29, inclined Irish women can freely ask beaus for their hand in marriage, and they’re not to be rebuffed.

It just so happens that Jeremy is attending a cardiologist’s seminar in Dublin. And it just so happens to be the latter part of February in a leap year. And it just so happens that Anna is inclined. And it just so happens that the whole thing can niche into her schedule.

But it also just so happens that a storm diverts her flight … to Wales. And after making it across the Irish Sea, the only person who can drive her to Dublin by the 29th is a scruffy barkeep (Declan) who keeps calling her an idiot.

One disaster deserves another, it seems. And soon Anna is covered in mud and cow poo. Her heart is playing tricks on her, too. Anna’s ordered life is about to take some unscheduled turns.

Positive Elements

In characters’ choices and in some very direct lines of dialogue it’s made clear that loving commitment and marriage go hand in hand. Married owners of an Irish Bed & Breakfast, for instance, speak glowingly of their 44 years together. And their house rules demand that boarders be married if they’re to sleep in the same room. Even though Anna seems at first to want a ring on her finger as an attainment rather than a commitment, with time she realizes the lasting value of what it signifies.

Declan initially comes off as a bit gruff, but he sports solid views on relationships. When Anna tells a story of her father’s poor choices, Declan states his sorrow for her misfortune, saying, “A father is someone you should be able to rely on.” Declan’s small township of friends all rally round to help him pay off a debt.

[ Spoiler Warning ] Anna finally realizes that her overly structured life hasn’t been healthy. And she proposes that she and Declan not make plans together, but stay in each other’s lives. He surprises her, though, by saying that he definitely wants to make plans with her. And then he goes to one knee to propose. They marry by movie’s end.

Spiritual Elements

On the plane, Anna talks with a priest sitting next to her. When a storm suddenly tosses them around, the man begins silently praying. Stone crosses are seen scattered about the grounds of an ancient castle.

Folksy superstitions voiced (that nobody really believes) include, “You shouldn’t start a journey on a Saturday” and, “It’s bad luck to have a black cat cross your path.”

Sexual Content

Even though Declan and Anna are tempted—and must sleep in the same small bed on one occasion—they set clear boundaries for their physical contact and keep their distance.

A few couples kiss—sometimes passionately.

Anna wears tight-fitting skirts and low-cut tops, as do some other women at a party. Declan bursts into Anna’s room when she’s only dressed in a skimpy bra and panties. (She covers up after the camera gets a quick look.) Anna and Declan are shown wrapped in towels after showers at one point. Declan makes a joke about Jeremy’s “little thing.”

Violent Content

The high-heeled Anna takes several tumbles during her road trip. At one point, for instance, she is running down a rain-washed hillside and falls, sliding face-first into a mud bog. Declan’s car also rolls down a hillside, crashing into a stream. During a wedding reception, Anna’s shoe accidentally flies off and hits the bride in the forehead.

Declan gets into a fistfight with several guys who stole Anna’s suitcase. Anna chips in as the melee escalates, kicking one guy and throwing whiskey into another guy’s face.

Crude or Profane Language

As Declan and Anna burst into a church wedding during a hail storm, he blurts out “Jesus Christ” and she belatedly follows with “… is Lord!” Jesus’ name is abused one other time; God’s name is exclaimed seven or eight times. A half-dozen uses of “h‑‑‑,” a couple of “a‑‑” and one of “d‑‑n.”

Drug and Alcohol Content

A number of scenes take place in pubs or bars, where everyone has a glass of beer in their hands or at their lips. Sometimes the casual drinking turns into drunkenness. One guy in a Boston bar, for instance, downs shots and is obviously tipsy when he asks Anna to marry him. Later a pub drinker stands up and immediately falls to the floor on his face. Anna over-imbibes at one point as well: She moves to kiss Declan and throws up on his shoes.

Anna and Declan pass a bottle of wine back and forth while cooking a meal. Other folks drink wine with dinner. And partygoers drink from champagne flutes and wine glasses.

Other Negative Elements

Anna and Declan lie about being married in order to stay at the Bed & Breakfast. Anna steps in a pile of cow manure for a little road humor. Thieves giggle over her underwear and put it on their heads.

Ever since Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert mixed it up back in It Happened One Night (and probably even before that), Hollywood has been concocting comedies that force two romantic opposites into a disastrous blender of mishaps for an audience’s amusement. And from the moment the pretty girl meets the roguishly handsome diamond in the rough, we know what’ll happen. They’re going to go at it like two cats in a sack. And then emotions will suddenly turn from disdain to desire in the course of an accidental stumble or an unexpected smooch.

Our enjoyment of said comedic fluff really comes down to two things: 1) Is the negative content that surrounds them subdued or brazen, and 2) Is the couple in question appealing enough to hang around with for an hour and a half? As for the former, Leap Year keeps the sexual stuff stuffed down into the bottom of Anna’s Louis Vuitton suitcase, but it dabbles a bit too much in heavy drinking and it abuses Jesus’ name.

The latter? Amy Adams and Matthew Goode fill their tried-and-true roles well, making us care about their characters, despite their obvious flaws and the silliness of their circumstances. Leap Year also insists that love—especially true and solid Irish love—equals marriage. And marriage, when carried through with all your heart, equals a long, happy life. “I had everything that I ever wanted but nothing that I really needed,” Anna concludes.

As the credits roll, we can almost believe that lasting love might have been right and truly forged in a fortnight. And we can almost convince ourselves that we haven’t seen this frothy tale two dozen times before.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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A nand Tucker is the massively talented director whose credits include And When Did You Last See Your Father? and TV's Red Riding (now ­enjoying a sensational big-screen ­debut in the US). But even he can do nothing with this horrendous romcom script. Wide-eyed Amy Adams is Anna, the uptight ­Manhattan ­professional and closet ­romantic – and ah, to be sure, isn't it Oireland she's after coming to, to make a leap-year marriage proposal, and stranded there by events which would be more believable if the story was set in 1960, or maybe 1860. She is thrown together with a hunky local taxi driver played by, of all ­people, Matthew Goode – with a dodgy ­accent. Greater miscasting could only be achieved by getting Jeremy Irons to come on with a pointy hat, playing a leprechaun, while a straight-armed green-clad Edward Fox riverdances madly around him playing Charlie Haughey. Afterwards, the only "leap" I felt like making was off a motorway ­gantry into the fast lane of the M25.

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Leap Year (2010)

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"Leap Year" ten years later - is it so bad it's good?

"leap year," now ten years old, was slammed as the worst movies of the year, but is still queued up around february 29..

"Leap Year" was slammed by critics during its 2010 release, but the rom-com still gets queued up ahead of February 29

"Leap Year," with its horrible Irish accents and play on stereotypes, has to be one of the most cringe-inducing movies about Ireland ever made.

Seeing as 2020 is a leap year, the film is popping up again all over the place ten years after it was first released. Despite getting pretty tanked across the board by film critics, the film has achieved a sort of cult status amongst its fans. 

Read More: Ladies! 2020 is a Leap Year, do you know the Irish proposal tradition?

As the title suggests the movie tells the story of Anna Brady (McAdams) who travels to Dublin to propose marriage to her boyfriend (Adam Scott) on Leap Day in accordance with an old Irish tradition. However, charming Irishman Declan (Matthew Goode, ahem, an Englishman) throws a wrench in her plans.

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According to IMBD , the 2010 movie has a rating of 6.4 out of ten but on RottenTomatoes (critic’s opinions are collated) it achieved a desperate 23 percent from critics and 47 percent from audiences.

The review from Hot Press, a Dublin-based music magazine, says it all: “As if economic downturn and the confederacy of dunces at the top weren’t bad enough, Leap Year revives some horrors of old. Remember the crap Ireland from movies of yesteryear? Well, crap Ireland is back on screen and crapper than ever. Anand (Hilary & Jackie, When Did You Last See Your Father?) Tucker’s risible film offers the self-loathing Irish consumer a unique opportunity to experience a backward nation of drunken, superstitious morons, no infrastructure and cutesy-pie John Hinde landscapes. The plot is standard rom-com issue. Amy Adams travels to Ireland to propose to her fiancé but gets sidetracked by a rugged Irish barman (Englishman Matthew Goode) and subnormal natives who actually use the phrase ‘Top of the morning’. According to the film’s geography, we now think Dingle is located near Swansea.”

Among the most problematic pieces of "Leap Year" are that most of the roads in Ireland are depicted as dirt tracks, the attempts at Irish accents are less than stellar, and the Irish barman's obsession with his mother's Claddagh ring will leave you rolling your eyes.

Further, it appears no one considered consulting a map of Ireland while making the film. At one stage, the characters walk from Dingle to Tipperary in about an hour ... but it takes three days to get from Dingle to Dublin?! Nevermind when Amy's character leaves a pub in Dingle and is magically transported to the Aran Islands.

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It's not just the Irish, however, who weren't fans of "Leap Year." Time Magazine slammed it as the worst film of 2010 .

US Magazine said: "Despite some nice turns at the end, the flick suffers from too many cheap laughs and zero spark between the stars."

Huffington Post wrote: "Leap Year is the kind of movie that shows up weekly, if not daily, on the Lifetime, WE, and Hallmark channels." They added: "Apparently, the public has an insatiable appetite for unfunny romantic comedies about opposites, who attract after first repelling each other."

OK Magazine wrote: "There is one moment of hope in "Leap Year," and it comes near the end of the movie, after the idiot lead character, Anna (Amy Adams) faces a severe disappointment in a small Irish town, then high-tails it to a jagged cliff. It’s here that hope finally arises that Anna will come to her senses and live up to the title by taking a header off the cliff in an effort to atone for her sins of being the stupidest idiot alive and leading the audience through 90 minutes of her drudgery-inducing hunt for someone, anyone — maybe even any thing — to marry her."

Hollywood.com said: "While watching "Leap Year," I swear I could hear the Irish countryside quietly weeping as it witnessed Goode and Adams slog through the film's succession of trite misadventures, the talented actors straining in vain to manufacture some semblance of romantic chemistry as an assortment of jolly "Waking Ned Devine" types futilely spurred them on ... It's the worst thing to come out of Ireland since The Cranberries."

Despite the bad reviews, people can seem to stop queueing the movie up ahead of February 29, 2020. 

Read More: Craic Fest, for the best of Irish film and music in New York City

How do you feel about "Leap Year"? Let us know in the comments!

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Leap Year Parent Guide

Even if the outcome is certain, this romantic road trip through the cinematic irish landscape is an amiable one..

After four years of waiting for her boyfriend (Adam Scott) to propose, Amy (Amy Adams) decides to follow an old Irish custom that allows the woman to propose on Feb 29th. However, a funny thing happens on her way to pop the question. (The unexpected complication is played by Matthew Goode.)

Release date January 8, 2010

Run Time: 100 minutes

Official Movie Site

Get Content Details

The guide to our grades, parent movie review by kerry bennett.

After a four-year relationship, Anna (Amy Adams) and her boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott) are buying an apartment together in an exclusive, upscale neighborhood. But what Anna really wants, in addition to the real estate, is a marriage proposal. So after Jeremy gives her diamond earrings instead of an engagement ring, she decides to take matters into her own hands. Booking a flight to Ireland where he is attending a medical conference, she plans to put into play an ancient Irish tradition that allows women to propose on February 29th of any Leap Year.

Anna is a house stager who organizes her life with the same precision she employs when preparing an apartment to sell. When her trip to Dublin is interrupted by a fierce storm that forces her to make a detour to a tiny coastal hamlet, she is not about to be undone. Pulling her expensive luggage behind her, she sets out in a pair of ridiculously high heels for the country’s capital.

As to be expected the trip is fraught with disasters and setbacks. But compared to the clinical relationship Anna shares with her boyfriend, even the traveling companions’ arguments seem charming. (The most endearing comment Anna makes about Jeremy is that he’s a cardiologist.)

This movie scores positive points for families for what it doesn’t include as much as what it does. Even though Declan and Anna are forced to spend a night in the same bed (under the pretense of being married), sexual activity is not part of their slumber. And although we see Anna wearing only her underwear at one point and the outline of her showering in another, the scenes are done mainly for comedy. Even a fistfight between some men is motivated by chivalry. Unfortunately, there are plenty of pints in this production and characters drink frequently both at home and in social settings.

The film’s biggest fault may be its proclivity to predictability. The movie poster alone gives the ending away. However, even if the outcome is certain, this romantic road trip through the cinematic Irish landscape is an amiable one despite the contrasting values of the two main characters. As well, the script introduces some interesting locals and positive messages. Initially motivated by the accumulation of possessions and achieving the perfect presentation, Anna discovers the real value of things and, more importantly, people in her life. Then, with the kind of passion that causes her to walk down the back roads of Ireland in stilettos, she sets out to pursue them.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Leap year rating & content info.

Why is Leap Year rated PG? Leap Year is rated PG by the MPAA for sensuality and language.

Alcohol consumption is common in this movie where characters imbibe frequently in bars, homes and at other social settings. In one scene, a character drinks excessively while bemoaning her situation and later vomits as a result of the liquor. A woman is seen wearing only her underwear. The outline of her figure is also shown through a shower curtain. Couples exchange passionate kisses. Men engage in a fistfight over a stolen suitcase. One character is kicked in the groin. A woman is hit in the head with a shoe. A character falls down a steep incline. A chicken is killed off screen. The dialogue includes name-calling, profanities, terms of Deity and some brief sexual innuendo.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Leap Year Parents' Guide

Although the film’s timeline is only 2 1/2 days, this unlikely couple forms feelings for one another by the time they reach Dublin. Do you think two strangers could fall in love in that amount of time if they shared similar experiences as Anna and Declan? How do the two main characters in this film help one another to overcome personal issues?

The men at the local pub are particularly prone to superstition. Check out this list of Irish notions.

The tradition of women proposing to men originated in an old Irish tale about a deal struck between St. Bridget and St. Patrick. However the intercalary day has other practices associated with it as well.

The most recent home video release of Leap Year movie is May 4, 2010. Here are some details…

Release Date: 4 May 2010

Leap Year comes to DVD and Blu-ray with the following bonus materials: -Deleted Scenes Leap Year on Blu-ray disc also offers: -BD Live Access - pocket BLU app for iPhone or iPod Touch! - Mobile-to-Go - Virtual Remote and Keyboard - social BLU

Related home video titles:

In The Gods Must Be Crazy , a harried journalist shares similar experiences with Anna after leaving her big city job to become a schoolteacher in a primitive African village. Waking Ned Devine offers adults an entertaining though irreverent peek into an Irish community. Amy Adams plays a disheartened young office worker who determines to cook her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking in Julie & Julia .

Related news about Leap Year

St. Patrick’s Day Movies

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Leap Year Reviews

This is a movie that will stay with audiences for a very long time...

Full Review | Mar 24, 2021

Rowe's debut film is a powerful and wrenching experience distinguished by an uncomfortable emotional veracity that is nearly impossible to turn away from.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 5, 2019

A piece of vile misogynist trash.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Nov 5, 2018

With nothing to offset the persistent minimalism, we're left with a film that does too much of what it's doing and not enough of anything else.

Full Review | Oct 25, 2011

Nothing about Leap Year plays out exactly like you expect, and Rowe prefers to send you home with enigmatic questions instead of clear-cut answers.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 15, 2011

"Leap Year" might be too much for some audiences, but it is a potent and surprising work.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 1, 2011

... A satisfying psychosexual drama, even-handed in its criticism of both bucolic and metropolitan society.

Full Review | Jun 30, 2011

Del Carmen's sort of the shadow version of Anna Magnani. Emotionally frail, slumbering, and nearly inarticulate, yet hungry, seething, and Earth-Motherish. A powerful performance in one of the most explicit and shocking films of the past several years.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 24, 2011

It's a gripping, mysterious use of no-budget cinema at its finest, and an intimate character study with surprising emotional power.

Full Review | Jun 24, 2011

To Rowe's credit, this isn't just a movie about sex. It's a compassionate study of human loneliness.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 24, 2011

A haunting portrait of loneliness in its starkest state.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 24, 2011

It's not because of the amount of sex and nudity that the word "daring" comes to mind in describing Mnica del Carmen's performance, a combination of subtle vulnerability and abandonment.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 23, 2011

Shocks only with its candor and complete lack of dramatic manipulation.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 23, 2011

quiet, heartbreaking

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 23, 2011

Leap Year lets actions speak louder than words, and the actions here are shockingly explicit.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jun 23, 2011

Like peanut butter and chocolate or Catholicism and guilt, few things go together better than sex and violence...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 22, 2011

There are trifling signs of freshmanship, but also a steady observant eye, and in the end Leap Year bears heartbreaking witness to hopeless depression, isolation, and the failure of sex as few movies ever have.

Full Review | Jun 21, 2011

Something wicked this way comes in Michael Rowe's Leap Year, a character study of outstanding subtlety and fierce aesthetic exactitude.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 18, 2011

From Mexico, this bold and yet subtle film is so bracingly realistic that at times we begin worrying about the central actress.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Dec 2, 2010

A tough but humane and affecting watch.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 29, 2010

"Cute Romantic Comedy"

What You Need To Know:

(BB, Ro, C, L, V, N, AA, M) Strong moral worldview with some Romantic elements where couple chooses marriage over just having a relationship and inn owners only want to let married couples stay at their inn, with a church wedding scene where a Christian pastor conducts the ceremony; seven light obscenities and one use of the Lord’s name in vain; one fight scene rescuing a suitcase from thieves; no depicted or implied sex scenes, but there is a scene of an unmarried couple forced to share a bed and another couple has had a four-year relationship without getting married; upper male nudity and woman is in a shower behind a semi-transparent curtain; heavy drinking at a wedding to the point of vomiting, a main character operates a pub, and social drinking in other scenes as well; no smoking; and, dishonesty and couple poses as married in order to get a room at an inn.

More Detail:

Amy Adams and Matthew Goode shine in the cute romantic comedy LEAP YEAR. While the romance is not what you would recommend for your own Christian children, the movie does honor the institution of marriage and opposes sex outside of marriage.

The movie opens with Anna (Amy Adams) in a four-year relationship with Jeremy (Adam Scott) a workaholic doctor. Anna wants to get married and thinks Jeremy is about to propose, but instead he gives her diamond earrings and flies off to a convention in Ireland. Amy learns of an old Irish tradition that women can propose to men on February 29 (which only comes on leap years). She flies to Ireland to propose to Jeremy.

Anna’s plane is diverted by a major storm, and she has to try to get across country to Dublin to make her proposal. Circumstances result in the only ride available being from Declan (Matthew Goode) the handsome young owner of a struggling pub. As can be anticipated they fight like cats and dogs but wind up falling in love. Obviously, this classic conflict and its resolution provide ample opportunity for comedy and romance. Amy Adams and Matthew Goode pull it off very well.

One refreshing scene features an innkeeper who only wants to rent rooms to married couples. Thankfully, the police did not come arrest them for a hate crime or even discrimination. The result is that the couple that actually dislikes each other at that point must share a small bedroom with one double bed. There is no sex shown or implied in the scene, but they do come to appreciate each other more while at the inn.

Trying to avoid a hailstorm, the couple crashes a wedding. The comedy at the wedding includes some heavy drinking to the point of throwing up. The movie includes a few light obscenities and one use of the Lord’s name in vain.

While the movie honors marriage, its concept of romance is typical of romantic comedies. When considering marriage, it is crucial to seek God’s will and to purposely build your marriage on a relationship to Jesus Christ. Marriages built on the kind of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 stand a far better chance of lasting 50 years than those built on a thrilling kiss or a weekend of fun. A good Christian marriage should see love grow and grow over the years. Marriages built on Hollywood style romance can fall apart easily.

LEAP YEAR is fun. The production values, the acting, and even the music are all first rate. Just be cautioned about a little foul language, some heavy alcohol abuse, a shower scene shown through a blurry curtain, and the usual starry-eyed kind of Hollywood romance.

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