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This is by far the best movie I've seen. I've read the book which doesn't vary much, but again. It's amazing. I think Vince was spectacular stepping out of the odd array of characters he has played in the past to portray "Gordon" in such a perfect manner... Read the book "Dance real slow" by Michael Grant Jaffe. It will be well worth the time...

Russell Durrell (Vince Vaughn) moves to rural Kansas with his son Calvin after getting fired as a trial lawyer in Chicago. His wife Kate (Monica Potter) abandoned them leaving the family shattered. Russell got a job working for his school friend and is coaching the high school basketball team. Noah is one of his troubled players. Russell starts going out with Noah's older sister Beth Ward (Joey Lauren Adams). Their lives are further complicated when Kate shows up.

This is like Kramer vs Kramer but it doesn't have the same touching emotions. The kid is rather bratty and bitter. It's not unreasonable but it's off-putting. The movie tries to give him some humor with the female anatomy but it doesn't really work. Vaughn has the same feel. The three leads are great. It might be useful to see what happened in Chicago. Something is wrong with this movie but it's nothing glaring.

It is funny that I had just a couple of days ago watched a Cooler Climate with Sally Field and Judy Davis and it made me think that I hadn't seen A Cool Dry Place in a while and low and behold I am flipping the channels and there it is! Vince Vaughn does a great job at playing a man that is suddenly forced into being a single parent after his wife leaves him. He has to reorganize his life in order to raise his son. This movie shows what sacrifices you have to make as a single parent in order to raise your kids.

Fans of Vince Vaughn will be pleasantly surprised by this movie. It shows a different side of him, a side that I hope he shows more of in other movies.

Vince Vaughn is very convincing as a single father in this film! The most intriguing feature of this film is Vince out of funny! This is my first experience with him not trying to make me laugh, and yes, he did make me cry! Torn between new love, new job, old feelings and a child, his character took me on a roller-coaster ride that didn't end until the credits rolled!!! If you see no other Vaughn movie this one is a must! Not only is the story great, but Vince is gentle and compassionate; a father that takes his job as a parent most seriously. The angst in his day-to-day struggle as a parent and a man will leave you thinking about parenthood long after the movie has ended!

Watching this film for the second time I found it wasn't as good as i'd initially remembered.

Vince Vaughn is excellent in a straight dramatic role and his performance really carries the film, his interaction with his son is the main selling point. Joey Lauren Adams, although not given a whole lot to do, is very charming but remains two dimensional. Monica Potter does OK with a fairly thankless role but like Adams, her character's moods and motivations are never really explored. As a examination of the relationship between father and son the film does its job, however the various subplots are neglected and give the feeling of being there solely to pad the runtime.

Overall not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, just don't expect to be blown away by it.