BOUNCE (Miramax) Starring: Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joe Morton, Tony Goldwyn, Natasha Henstridge, Johnny Galecki, Alex D. Linz. Screenplay: Don Roos. Producers: Steve Golin and Michael Besman. Director: Don Roos. MPAA Rating: PG-13 (profanity, adult themes) Running Time: 105 minutes. Reviewed by Scott Renshaw.
This just in: The sincere romantic drama is not extinct. Make no mistake, it's on the endangered species list; in this oh-so-ironic era, sincerity sightings have been akin to those blurry shots of the Loch Ness Monster and hubcap-like flying saucers. You don't expect mainstream movies to deliver romantic stories that seem grounded in genuine feelings, and you certainly don't expect it from Don Roos, who wrote and directed the attitude-laden THE OPPOSITE OF SEX. Nevertheless, here comes BOUNCE offering that rarest of Y2K big-screen commodities: an adult relationship with some real emotion.
It starts out, however, like a typical high-concept trifle. Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck), a cocky advertising executive, is on his way back to L.A. from a business trip to Chicago when he meets Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn) in an O'Hare Airport bar. Greg is trying to get home to his family on a snowy night with plenty of flight delays; Buddy is looking for an excuse to stay the night with a woman he just met. Doing his version of a good deed, Buddy hands Greg his boarding pass for his L.A.-bound flight. Tragically, that flight crashes, leaving Buddy with a serious case of survivor guilt. After a bout with the bottle, Buddy decides that the closure he needs involves checking in on Greg's widow Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow) a year after the crash to make sure she's doing all right.
Naturally, a relationship grows between Buddy and Abby, complicated by Buddy's unwillingness to admit to Abby that he was the person responsible for Greg being on the ill-fated plane. The surprise is that the relationship never feels like a wacky contrivance. Roos is a smart writer with a nose for full characterizations, and the story development as a whole rarely feels manipulated for the convenience of the plot (see below for notable exception). He steps back as a director from some of the most potentially exploitative moments, and injects his sharp wit in places where it works organically (particularly in the person of Johnny Galecki as Buddy's assistant). Though it's a romance with some humor, it never ignores the basic sadness in both Buddy and Abby's lives that gives resonance to their connection. Though it's a romance with tragic elements, it never wallows in the tragedy so much that it turns into melodrama.
BOUNCE could have been a true gem of a film if the leads had been more evenly matched as actors. Gwyneth Paltrow is one of those performers who appears doomed to be scorned and underappreciated for her talent as long as she is still young and attractive, but let's get this straight: She's a damned good actress. In BOUNCE, she's once again wonderful, capturing Abby's strength and vulnerability. Affleck, on the other hand, still has some growing to do as an actor. He's not a bad actor, but he still carries himself on screen primarily with a swagger, even when he's supposed to be emotionally wounded. Buddy the charming cad is a role Affleck can make appealing in his sleep. Buddy the tormented alcoholic, huddled in a shower with a drink in his hand, is too heavy a character for Affleck to clean-and-jerk.
Roos takes an unfortunately large mis-step during BOUNCE's third act, when he introduces a sub-plot involving a court battle. Not only does it once again place Affleck in the unfortunate position of getting all mega-serious on us, it's also the only time BOUNCE starts to feel like something that could only happen in a movie. There's nothing inherently wrong with romantic dramas that take on that AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER-style sense of heightened tragedy. It's just so unusual when a film gives you the opportunity to explore romantic complications more simply. BOUNCE makes it's share of mistakes, but it's always clear that its heart is in the right place. How refreshing to spend time with a film willing to show you its heart at all.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 soulful survivors: 7.
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