SLIDING DOORS Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Great gimmick, mundane movie. Following this sensational intro, both of "Sliding Doors"' story tangents settle into the tedious complications and contrived crises that hamper so many contemporary romantic comedies; in fact, remove the delectable set-up and the fine acting of Paltrow and Scotsman John Hannah ("Four Weddings and a Funeral"), as a potential paramour for the newly-unattached Helen of Branch A, and this film has practically nothing. True to stints in past flicks, Paltrow shines brightly, especially here, while playing opposite the equally charming Hannah. Too bad the screenplay fails to give her an alter-ego who engages on pretty much any level.
Still, it could be worse - it could be Branch B, which teams the already dull Helen with Lynch's scummy squeeze and Tripplehorn's just-as-scummy other woman. There's really nothing wrong with either Lynch or Tripplehorn's performances, parse - you get the feeling they're doing what they've been instructed by writer/director Peter Howitt - but when a movie like this doesn't even conjure up truly hissable antagonists, trouble can't be far. And as annoying as it is, Lynch's neurotic hem-hawing probably resides among the more lively elements of "Sliding Doors," if only because it's a near-perfect aping of Woody Allen - were Allen British and 30 years younger, of course.
Let's at least give Howitt credit for keeping his dual tales straight and untangled, even as they overlap from one tedious scene to the next. His casting of the lovely always Paltrow is a definite asset - and permitting her use of the adorable Cockney accent she flexed in "Emma" is also a pro - but one wonders if such an interesting premise had to be squandered in service of such a uninteresting plot-and-character combo. By the time "Sliding Doors" reaches a weird conclusion that attempts to tie the two Helens' fates together, audiences will presumably examine their own Branch As and Bs, but maybe only in the sense of where the past two hours could have taken them.
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