Paltrow, Affleck bounce...but not very high
Bounce A film review by Michael Redman Copyright 2000 by Michael Redman
**1/2 (out of ****)
A majority of people probably begin affairs with little white lies. Their personal history ("I've never done this before") and current status ("Of course they're real") are exaggerated slightly to create a more positive face. Praise ("You're the best I've ever been with") tends towards the hyperbolic.
Some falsehoods are more serious ("That was someone else with the same name in the newspaper") and some downright dangerous ("No, I'm not psychotic").
If the relationship progresses there comes a time when the honesty must out and intense back-peddling takes place ("Well, yes, I am sorta married, but I'm getting divorced soon, I promise"). The more monumental the deception, the higher the level of guilt and the greater the risk in both telling the truth and keeping the secret. Explaining that "I'm the man who caused your husband's death and I've been lying to you ever since we met" is probably a potential deal-breaker.
Buddy (Ben Affleck) faces such a dilemma when he falls for the widow of the man he unintentionally doomed.
In a snowed-in airport bar, the ad exec sits with two strangers awaiting news of their delayed flights. Greg (Tony Goldwyn) wants to get home to his family. Buddy wants to score a homer with Mimi (Natasha Henstridge), their attractive companion. When Mimi hints heavily that she wouldn't be opposed to sharing her hotel room, Buddy gives his rescheduled flight ticket to Greg.
Sex with a perfect stranger saves Buddy's life. The plane crashes with no survivors.
Understandably shaken by his close brush, Buddy hits the bottle for a year. As part of the 12-step recovery program, he has to make amends to people he has wronged and looks up Greg's widow Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow).
He is unable to admit who he is and lies to her, tossing a big real estate deal her way trying to relieve some of his guilt for destroying her life. She lies to him ("I'm divorced") so she doesn't appear pathetic.
Ignoring all the danger signs (guilt-ridden man wants to rescue wounded woman so he can make himself feel better) and this being a movie, their lies lead to -- you guessed it -- true love. The film follows the tried but true formula. He falls for her and can't bring himself to confess because it would destroy their relationship. Does she find out? Do they break up? Can they get back together? You've seen this all before.
It takes forever for Abby learn the truth. Since you know it's going to happen, every scene poses the question. Is he going to tell her now? How about now? Maybe now? Better to get it done with and on with the story.
Just because the outcome of every plot element is known after the first five minutes doesn't necessarily mean you won't enjoy the film. But it does mean that characterization and chemistry have to work overtime. Here there is good news and bad news.
Paltrow does a credible job portraying a real woman with real concerns: single motherhood, guilt over dishonoring her dead husband's memory. Affleck's journey from wise-cracking rogue to caring lover and father figure by way of demon rum and AA is an interesting premise but not very convincing. His character is too over-romanticized to be very believable.
The sparks between them are the linchpin of the film but there is no blazing fire. The audience's investment in Abby's decision whether she can spend the rest of her life with a man who reminds her of her dead husband every time she looks at him requires that we understand her overwhelming desire to do so. That passion is never on the screen. The two feel shielded from letting us see any deep emotions.
A different relationship that gets very little screen time is much more engaging. Buddy's caustic gay assistant and fellow AA member (Johnny Galecki) is the liveliest character in the film and has the best lines. A more interesting story would have been about those two. Instead they go from enemies to friends invisibly.
Director Don Roos scored a major hit with his quirky "The Opposite Of Sex" but this mainstream attempt is just so-so. The final few minutes are absolutely atrocious.
My biggest gripe with this film is product placement. A couple of IMacs in the background are acceptable, but six-foot tall Coke cans (regular, diet, caffeine-free -- take your choice) repeatedly shoved in our faces is an insult. One also has to wonder how much Paltrow's breasts paid for their prominent screen placement.
(Michael Redman has written this column for a very long time but he has never lied to make himself look better at the beginning of a relationship. To the best of his knowledge. Probably. Email entertaining falsehoods to redman@bluemarble.net.)
[This appeared in the 11/23/2000 "Bloomington Independent", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bluemarble.net.]
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