Key Exchange

This movie is *very* 80's and *very* generic, containing lots of music-video-type segments set to generic 80's pop music. It's clearly not a film made by someone with something to say; rather, it's a film made by someone who wanted to get a film made, and assembled as many interchangeable standard movie devices as necessary to fill the time. It seems to have been designed especially for late-night repeats on television, and to its credit it is much better than watching an infomercial. Not a bad movie, really, just irrelevant.

I was a little surprised at how vehemently people disliked this movie. I thought it was a really nice piece of fluff and that all the actors were good, especially Ben Masters. I'm surprised he didn't become more famous--reminds me of a young Jim Carrey. Sure, the music was awful, but it was the 80's--most of it was. So were the hairstyles and fashions--but for me that's part of the fun of watching an 80s movie--seeing how ridiculous we used to look. The movie obviously wasn't trying to be realistic, just entertaining....and it was for me. I enjoyed the NYC scenery, especially all the views of Central Park. Buying the hot dog from what looked like a working vendor was also cool.

Lisa (Brooke Adams) has a fine job as a producer for a NYC talk show starring David (Tony Roberts). She also has a somewhat steady boyfriend in Philip (Ben Masters) who adores bicycle racing. While Lisa would like to further the relationship with Philip, he is dragging his feet. She considers it a victory when he finally gives her a duplicate key to his apartment. Shortly thereafter, a close male friend of Philip's experiences a marriage break-up and Philip is even more reluctant to maintain an exclusive relationship. Will Lisa decide to give Philip more time or will she respond to David's growing interest in her?

This film is way down on the scale of successful romantic comedies. It lacks humor and is rather mundanely written. The key performers, especially Adams, display good acting abilities, but they don't translate into more than a routine day at the movies. Tried and true fans of romantic comedies may want to take a chance with this one after exhausting the video store and library of other examples of the genre. All other movie fans will find it has few redeeming qualities.

"Key Exchange" traces the romantic inclinations of two couples, one married, one not. A vanilla and uninspired romcom with a handful of nondescript actors yammering their way from one insipid scene to another, this easy-going flick has little to offer save a few humorous moments and some misfired attempts at poignancy. Too good natured not to like, "Key Exchange" makes for a mild watch for the bleary eyed sofa spud. (C)