In May 2003, a romcom starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor seemed like a surefire recipe for success. Zellweger had just earned consecutive best actress Oscar nominations for Bridget Jones’ Diary and Chicago, and McGregor had leading roles in zeitgeist-defining hits including Moulin Rouge and Star Wars. But on release, Down with Love barely made a dent at the box office, and audiences and critics alike were baffled by its camp sensibility and embrace of artifice.
