Directed by Ron Howard and starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin James, Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum, The Dilemma - on paper - looked to be just the right comedy to kick off 2011. With Howard at the helm and the comic pairing of Vaughn and James, The Dilemma had all the makings of a winner - or at least a film capable of delivering real laughs.

Throw in Connelly who won an Academy Award last time she worked with Howard (A Beautiful Mind) and Ryder, who's currently experiencing a resurgence in her career, and The Dilemma should have bucked the trend and provided a reason to head to theaters in January, a time that's generally considered to be a wasteland for films. But, no, the film to lift us out of our wintry doldrums isn't The Dilemma.

Ronny (Vaughn) is a fast-talking salesman who makes a deal with Dodge to deliver an electric motor that replicates the sound of a muscle car. Ronny and his business partner and best friend Nick (James) only have a few days to actually come up with the product, but if they do, it will all but guarantee the success of their company. Kevin's the brains of the operation; however Ronny seems to be in charge of overall operations. And the lack of any actual work leaves Ronny plenty of time to get into mischief.

After a night out with Nick and his wife, Geneva (Ryder), Ronny comes to the conclusion that he finally wants to take his relationship with his long-time girlfriend, Beth (Connelly), to the next level. To do so he'll need to find the perfect spot to pop the question. He decides on a botanical garden but as he's setting things up, he spies Geneva off in the bushes with a study, tattooed hunk (Tatum) who's definitely not Nick. After falling into the poisonous plants thus ending any chance of using the facility as the venue to propose, Ronny's left with a real...wait for it...dilemma on his hands.

Should he tell Nick what he saw? The little angel on his shoulder tells him he absolutely needs to, but the devil points out that by doing so he'd throw Nick off his game and they'd probably lose any hope of signing what could be a multi-million deal with Dodge. Nick needs to concentrate and now's not the time to interrupt his creative process with the news his wife's having an affair.

Channing Tatum in 'The Dilemma'

So, Ronny, who is being driven crazy by having to keep this secret to him, opts to confront Geneva. That decision sets off a chain of events that leads to dead fish, a particularly vicious beating, the destruction of a classic car - as well as the near destruction of Ronny's relationship with Beth - and all sorts of other mayhem.