mattymatt4ever

I was literally preparing to hate this movie, so believe me when I say this film is worth seeing. Overall, the story and gags are contrived, but the film has the charm and finesse to pull them off. That gag where Jason Lee thinks he has crabs, and tries not to let his boss/future father-in-law and co-workers see him scratching himself isn't terribly intelligent, but it sent me into a frenzy of laughter. Very few of the film's gags are high-brow, but they made me laugh. As I said, the film has charm and charm can go a long way.

The characters are likable, too. I must say I wish I got to see more of James Brolin's character, since he was a hoot in the very few scenes he was in. Plus, I admire any romantic comedy that has the guts to not make the character of the wife (who serves as the obstacle in the plot) a total witch. The Selma Blair character is hardly unlikable, and there's never a scene where I thought to myself, "Why did he want to marry her in the first place?" The ending is Hollywood-ish, but it could've been much more schmaltzy.

The cast is talented. I haven't had a favorable view of most of Jason Lee's mainstream work. I just loved him so much in Kevin Smith's films that I couldn't help but feel disappointed at seeing him in these dopey roles. And he never looks comfortable in these dopey roles. Even in this movie, he doesn't look perfectly comfortable, but he contributes his own two cents and effectively handles each scene. But I still miss his work in independent films. Julia Stiles proves again why she's so damn likable. Of course, she's a very beautiful girl with a radiant smile that makes me want to faint, but she also possesses a unique charm and seems to have good personality. In other words, her beauty shows inside and out. I don't know the actresses' name, but the woman who plays the drunk granny is hilarious. Julie Hagerty also has a small part, and she's always enjoyable to watch, which makes me wish she received better roles. I loved her so much in "Airplane" and "Lost in America" that it's a shame she doesn't get the same opportunities to flaunt her skills.

Don't be put off by the horrible trailers and even more horrible box office records. This is a funny, charming film. Romantic comedies are getting so predictable nowadays that it feels like the genre itself is ready to be flushed down the toilet, so it's always to see a good one among all these bad apples.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

This is not your usual dull, hackneyed teen sex comedy. I actually found it to be amazingly sharp and witty. It's directed by Michael Lehmann, who also made the great teen satire "Heathers." The script is also well-written. Josh Hartnett is one of the best new young actors, and gives another fine performance. He doesn't play the scenes for laughs, but as a seriously conflicted man. So the comedy works out better with him playing it straight. Paolo Costanzo of "Road Trip" says a few hilarious lines and steals a few scenes as his free-spirited roommate. Naturally, you can't make a teen comedy without at least one veteran adult actor in the cast, and this time it's Griffin Dunne, who's an absolute hoot as Hartnett's boss. It's funny to watch him be just as obsessed with sex as his employees half his age.

The movie isn't perfect. Along with the witty sex gags there are some gratuitously predictable moments, like the dinner scene with Hartnett's parents, in which his father starts going on a tangent about the sexual positions he's still able to use with his broken hip. And the third act contains no surprises, as it resorts to the usual feel-good cliches.

As for the eye candy factor, both men and women should be satisfied. Men should enjoy the gratuitous shots of naked women, as well as the hot-looking Shannon Sossymon, Vinessa Shaw and Maggie Gyllenhaal. And needless to say, women should enjoy the sight of Josh Hartnett.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

I think instead of postponing its release date, they should've just sent it direct to video. Movies that get their released dates postponed don't often succeed at the box office, but even if this movie were released as planned I'm still pretty sure it would've tanked.

The main problem with this film is it's way too chaotic. There's so many characters to keep track of, so at times I'd forget the goals of each character. Not to mention the characters aren't any interesting. The cast is excellent, yet every single actor is given a horribly thankless role. Tim Allen is supposedly the star of the film, but his character is so poorly developed that at times I forgot he's supposed to be the hero in this story. And the same goes for the rest of these great talents: Ben Foster, Janeane Garofolo, Jason Lee (who's for the most part cursed when it comes to mainstream film), Rene Russo, Patrick Warburton, Conan O'Brien's great former co-host Andy Richter, Omar Epps, Johnny Knoxville, Tom Sizemore, Stanley Tucci, Zooey Deschanel and DJ Qualls. Yes, ALL that wasted talent. What the hell did they see in this script? Obviously they were paying more attention to their paychecks. Dennis Farina seems to be the only actor who didn't sleep through his role, giving another fine tough-guy performance. Heavy D also seems to be having fun, but that's considering his 15 minutes are up and he's simply glad to have a job period. But when you have a lame script, what can you do? Even if you are a greatly talented actor.

All the gags are either lame, predictable, forced or consisting of hackneyed sexual innuendos. The comic situations are so contrived it makes you want to puke. Farce is very tricky, and when it's not handled correctly it can fall to pieces. "Arsenic and Old Lace" is an outrageous comedy with characters getting into outrageous situations, but it worked, because it was handled with great precision by Frank Capra. When "Wild Wild West" was showered with poor reviews, I thought I was on crack when I was one of the few people who liked it. But now that I see "Big Trouble," I stand corrected. I can tell when Barry Sonnenfeld has screwed up.

My score: 3 (out of 10)