Review by Bailey
Film:
DVD:
Written by Walter Becker & Peter Nelson
Directed by Walter Becker
Starring Jerry O'Connell, Bridgette Wilson, Alyssa Milano, Ryan Reynolds, Bill Bellamy and Annabeth Gish
Features:
- Filmographies
- Bonus Trailers
Released by: Columbia/Tristar.
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.
My Advice: Oddly enough, own it.
David Collins (O'Connell) has dragged his feet long enough. His girlfriend
(Wilson) has told him to basically defecate or leave the stall. In other words, he's got two months to commit to her for
forever and always, or get lost. David
has spent his entire life living by the mantra “why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free”? So his friends tell him to try his luck on the open market, you know, in order to make
sure that he really does belong with his present significant other. And there's this one woman that he keeps seeing--but
never can seem to corner her long enough to strike up a conversation. Is she...The One? This is when the series
of increasingly unbelievable coincidences begins which take us to the movie's conclusion.
To say anything more, like one single sentence, would give away the entire plot.
You know that movie, the one where the guy is trying desperately to find the girl of his dreams? Yup, fifteen or so titles just leapt into your head. And that's the biggest drawback to this flick. I won't go so far as to say out and out "formulaic", because there are a couple of surprises provided in the plot--but the whole thing just gets dry and silly in places. There are only two really funny parts in this movie, and both are subplots involving the character of Mike (Reynolds). Mike is a very successful man with the ladies but the humor comes when he begins to question his sexuality. This very comical approach to an awkward question doesn't take itself seriously. I would find it hard to believe anyone would be offended.
I found it a let down that the real humor didn't involve the main characters and that Jonesy (Bellamy) is the text book example of the token black guy. I'm not sure why he was in the movie. He could have been a real asset but he wasn't used. He was just kind of there to show us that David had a smooth black friend, I guess. I was disappointed that he didn't get more screen time.
So despite a cast that I dig, you've got two bright scenes out of a whole film's worth. And not to confuse you, but
you're going to want to buy this film. It's got one of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in it, but trust me--buy the
cheapest copy in the secondhand store you can find. Buy it at a garage sale if you can.
The reason? You're going to want show your friends the scene with Reynolds. Heck, if you do get the DVD then skip to Scene 15; if you got it on VHS, skip ahead to 37 minutes, 27 seconds. Don't waste your time on the rest of the movie, it doesn't matter, it doesn't need setting up. Just watch this part and laugh. You'll want to pull it out once a year and laugh. When your best friend from the old days shows up unannounced and you have that awkward silence when you're not sure what to say or do just pull this out and watch it, it'll be just like old times. The two of you'll be swapping war stories in no time. When your best friend is home sick with a stomach flu and it hurts for them to laugh take this and show it to them so they bust a gut. Then remind them of the time they forgot to come over and let the pet out while you where on vacation even though they swore they would do it. That's payback.