Noch einmal mit Gefühl

I didn't have high expectations for this movie but was I surprised. This was one of the funniest romantic comedies that's come along for quite some time. Bette Midler and Dennis Farina are great! Paula Marshall and Danny Nucci have some really good scenes. Jayne Eastwood as Aunt Iris is a hoot. Perfect casting in this one all the way. If you have been married for awhile you can practically feel the sparks sizzling between Midler and Farina. The music was even enjoyable. The latin music at the wedding makes you feel like dancing. Bette Midler and Dennis Farina prove that some things get better with age...

As larger-than-life as she is, Bette Midler manages to allow her co-stars to share the spotlight a little in this naughty comedy. David Rasche and Gail O'Grady could each carry a film on their own, and Farina's role fits him like a glove. Rasche was my favorite character. Jennifer Aniston was offered Paula Marshall's role as the daughter, but they wouldn't pony up $1 million for her. Marshall is fine, but Aniston may have been worth it to draw more people into the theatre and make this film the bigger hit it deserved to be. Her stuffed shirt of a husband exudes a sexy stuffed-shirtedness. But Nucci is annoying and his supposedly comic scenes with Marshall fall flat. He's supposed to be likabke, he's not. With Carl Reiner directing, it would hard to not find this film funny, and unpredictable. This film is not for people with conservative morals, but everyone else should enjoy it.

This is a lovely romp without a wasted moment. The often quite broad comedy is believable due to the great script and fine acting. The story cuts to the chase in a way that is refreshing (see the scene where Lilly and Dan go outside at the wedding). The leads are all appealing, especially Danny Nucci and Paula Marshall as an unlikely duo and Bette Midler and Dennis Farina, who are evidently having a fabulous time.

This is just flat out enjoyable and well-written, the way a lot of comedies were in the golden days of Hollywood. And like those great classic comedies, this is not a sappy sentimental story with any false nobility. People admit to not being perfect. They don't try to be anything they're not - or if they do they are quickly deflated.

The underlying theme is "be true to yourself and don't get sucked into the boring b.s. of life." This is the kind of subversive edge that the great screwballs had, right down to including a pompous wannabe politician and a gold-digging second wife.

Bravo. If only they'd make more like this. How about a sequel or the same team coming back together for another project?

This movie is adorable. I've seen it about six times but I never tire of it. I enjoy the comedy between Bette Midler and Dennis Farina, who are both fantastic, but watch this movie for Paula Marshall and Danny Nucci. They are both hilarious and sweet. This movie may not be the most popular one, but I'd rather watch this than many of the romantic comedies that have come out recently. Rent it, especially if you're a romantic comedy fan! It's great!!!

Dennis Farnina and Bette Midler are the best chemistry match for this outrageously screwball comedy.

Attending their daughter's wedding, after 14 years of being divorced from each other, and remarrying, the two despise each other and pull absolutely no punches. After a major screaming match at the reception, the two are put out in the street and told to calm down. It is at this point that the old feeling captures them and the picture becomes an absolute madcap comedy. The duo run off and are pursued by the daughter, and a photographer who can't stop snapping pictures of Midler.

While on their escapades, the daughter realizes that she has feelings for the photographer. She has married into a political Republican family who pride themselves on good family values. Some values. While waiting for his bride to return, the young husband gets drunk and has a one-night fling with Farina's second wife!

The ending is an absolute pip in the tradition of the 1930 screwball comedies. This is a marvelously crafted film- one of the best of this type that I've seen in years.