BOUNCE A film review by James Brundage Copyright 2000 filmcritic.com filmcritic.com
Great. Here I am, writing a review of yet another cheesy, clichéd, Ben Affleck romantic comedy in which I will probably be flamed by Affleck fans, Paltrow fans, romantics, teens, and widows. Yeah… widows. Why? Because Bounce is the latest in a string of contrived romantic comedies to feature a man falling for a widow whom he helped to make a widow.
Yeah… it's our old friends Bob and Harvey Weinstein, and this time they're capitalizing on plane crashes, public relations companies, alcoholics, and stalkers all in the same wicked stroke. Here we have Buddy Amaral (Affleck), just a good-old sweet talking ad rep who happens to give a free first class plane ticket to a guy named Greg (Tony Goldwyn) in order to sleep with Mimi (Natasha Henstridge… really, who wouldn't go for that)? Of course, the plane crashes, and, wouldn't you know it, he happens to rep the airlines. So he does what any person would: He drinks.
Cut to a year later, and Buddy's out of rehab and decides to take Step 8 (Contact those you have wronged and make amends) a little too seriously, and he begins following the widowed Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow), the former wife of Greg. Finding out that she's a realtor, he fixes it so he rips his own business off to the tune of $100,000, making herself a double commission to boot. Grateful as she is, she buys a couple of Dodgers tickets and the two head down the eventless path towards true bliss.
If this plot thrills you, or makes you coo, "Ah, how sweet," then please go see Bounce. Now. I'm sure you'll enjoy the paint-by-numbers romance. But let's face it, this is not exactly a great flick. In fact, it's downright terrible. In fact, the idea of being romanced by an alcoholic stalker named Buddy is a little more Silence of the Lambs than Sliding Doors. Writer-director Don Roos's last project, The Opposite of Sex, was one of the most honest films about homosexual stereotypes in recent years. And I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was trying to address issues of honesty and grieving, but this time he crashes and burns like the plush 747 O'Hare red-eye that makes a fiery farewell.
The performances are weak, the script couldn't hold up a toddler, and the emotional value is slightly above that of a couple of Valium. Sorry, Gwen and Ben, but even that oh-so-cute non-romance we read about at checkout lines daily can't salvage this wreck.
RATING: *1/2
|----------------------------------|
\ ***** Perfection \
\ **** Good, memorable film \
\ *** Average, hits and misses \
\ ** Sub-par on many levels \
\ * Unquestionably awful \
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MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Don Roos Producer: Michael Bessman, Steve Golin Writer: Don Roos Starring: Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, Tony Goldwyn, Joe Morton, David Paymer
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