Ever been in the kind of mood where you have absolutely nothing to do and you can't be bothered to do something to alleviate the boredom? That was the kind of mood I was in when I noticed this film was about to start. I was never going to go out of my way to see it and so it was with some trepidation that I approached it. Unsurprisingly, despite being a big Ben Affleck fan (though yes, the man has no sexual charisma), I found the first hour of the film to be quite boring and cliched. The idea of a disastrous road trip and an odd couple style arrangement has been done to death and there was nothing new here to interest me at all. Sandra Bullock was utterly unconvincing as the 'free spirit' who attaches herself to Affleck's nervous city-type character, the sooner she returns to either supporting roles or more serious ground the better it'll be for her career. As such, the ending caught me completely by surprise and was a rare delight in a genre known for it's cheery repetitiveness.
The plot revolves around Affleck's character, Ben Holmes, and his desperate need to travel the short distance from New York to Savannah in order to marry the love of his life. A series of catastrophes forces him to change his travelling plans and hook up with similarly-bound Sarah Lewis (Bullock) as they crawl to their destination. You can guess what happens from now on and you'd be right, so there's no need to explain it.
Several themes emerge as the plot progresses, the films anti-marriage sentiments which affect Holmes's state of mind, Bullock's 'force of nature' who catches him in her whirlwind of vitality, and the tough decision he has to make when he finally reaches his wedding. The first two of these are practically thrust down our throats as director Bronwen Hughes struggles hard to create something fresh out of such tired material. The third however, came as a considerable surprise and lifted the film to a new level.
I feel that if the prior hour and a half had shown even a little of that spark then the film would have done much better. I can't recommend it to couples looking for a cosy Sleepless in Seattle type movie but I can to all scriptwriters looking to create something that hasn't been seen before. |
