...und dann kam Polly

I saw this for free, thankfully, and wish it was better than it was, but it's really the same old stuff that movie studios seem to foist on us in the last ten years.

Ben Stiller and Jennifer Anniston play a couple who are opposites- and yet they are attracted to each other. Yes, it's an age old trope, and if that plot 'twist' doesn't take you by surprise and thrill you, the movie won't either.

Lots of sight gags and fart jokes. Halfway through the movie I began to realize that Ben Stiller really isn't that funny, but he tries VERY hard. And Jennifer Anniston really isn't that pretty, but her HAIR looks great. And Hank Azaria and Phillip Seymore Hoffman must have got paid a great deal of money to be in this kind of average ho-hum movie, I've come to expect more from them.

What was interesting was that I saw this after I saw American Splendor, which is a truly funny and original movie- and I compared the two in my head, and found myself wishing that the movie executives would be forced to sit through those two movies back to back- perhaps that would knock some sense into them and they'd start making better movies with unknowns rather than this formulaic stuff that plays best on airplanes.

ALONG CAME POLLY (2004) *** Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Bryan Brown, Hank Azaria, Michele Lee, Bob Dishy, Alec Baldwin, Missi Pyle. Stiller gives another of his patented hapless schmuck romantics turns as newlywed risk management assessor whose marriage is on the rocks when his wife (Messing) has an affair on their honeymoon, sending him back to NYC to assess his life and runs into former junior high friend Aniston who knocks him for a loop despite her flaky demeanor. Frequently funny and evenly paced by writer and first-time director John Hamburg the laughs come often and no thanks to Hoffman as Stiller's sloven has-been actor buddy and Baldwin as his vulgar boss. Despite the toilet humor (surprisingly in somewhat good taste if you can call it that) the film does have a heart and Stiller and Aniston make for a cute couple.

Ben Stiller is known for wacky characters such as White Goodman from Dodgeball, Tony Perkis in Heavy Weights, and the male model known as Derek Zoolander in Zoolander. But his other roles have been the quiet yet hysterical characters like Gaylord 'Greg' Focker in Meet the Parents and Meet the Focker's. This type of character is perfect for Stiller.

In Along Came Polly, Stiller stars as Reuben Feffer, the neurotic, slightly OCD risk-insurance salesman who looks at the outcome of a situation before getting involved. He decides whether or not a person is too much of a liability. Recently married to Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing), who on their honeymoon, decides to "get it on" with the scuba instructor (Hank Azaria). Fleeing back to the states, he meets up with his long time friend Sandy Lyle (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). He was a star actor but now is a has been who tries to go back to the top. For starters, he will be headlining the community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar...as Judas.

Now that Reuben is back, he is "free", but isn't ready for a relationship. Since he is still actually married, he decides to just lay low, until he meets an old friend from junior high. Enter Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), the free spirited, total opposite of Reuben who will flip his world upside down. Even though they seem to be on the opposite sides of the love spectrum, Reuben is crazy for her...hesitant...but still into it.

What makes this movie work is the combination of wacky humor and romance. Hoffman is hysterical as Lyle who thinks he is the cats meow. With his life being filmed for a feature on his life, Lyle is confident and even tries to be Reuben's mentor. Although they don't see eye to eye with certain issues, the two have a sort of brotherly bond that lasts thru thick and thin. Aniston is great as Polly and with the addition of Stiller, the two become a great duo, feeding off of each other's energy.

This movie is a great date flick and is even a good film to just pop in once and a while. Ben Stiller is on a roll with making movies these days and this is no exception. Along Came Polly is fantastic and worth watching. Another triumph for Stiller...and as Sandy Lyle once said, "Let it rain!"

Along Came Polly is not a masterpiece in the rom-com genre, but I did enjoy it, and although the humour is sometimes gross, it does make you laugh. However I would not consider this to be one of those movies to watch again and again. A one time watch, or just once every so often is good enough.

Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) analyses risk for a living and is an extremely cautious man, with an extremely cautious life. When he marries Lisa (Debra Messing), everyone considers them the perfect couple, as they are well suited to one another. But when Lisa cheats on him on their honeymoon with their Frenchie-French scuba diving instructor Claude (Hank Azaria...BUFFED UP!), Reuben's heart breaks. He returns to New York and bumps into Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), and they begin dating, despite being very different. Polly lives in the moment, Reuben thinks ahead. Polly loves ethnic food, Reuben hates it. Polly isn't too big with long-term relationships, whereas Reuben swears by it. Nevertheless their relationships seems to work. But when Lisa comes crawling back to Reuben, he is forced to make a decision. Who will it be, the free-spirited Polly, or Lisa, with whom Reuben shares a lot in common?

I thought this movie was very cute and I liked the ferret :). Ben Stiller's performance was not outstanding in this movie but he did play Reuben well, and to be honest I cannot imagine another actor as Reuben at all. He has a very identifiable voice and the knack of just being plain adorable. I would not say he owned the movie, like he usually does, but he certainly was very good. Jennifer Aniston was also just over average. I loved her in Friends, Bruce Almighty, but sadly I don't think she did as well as she could have. But her role was smaller than I would have thought. I really liked her character Polly Prince though, and I think this was because Polly was so much like myself. The last-minute planning, being untidy, liking ethnic food, the hunting for keys...all of this screamed 'ME' all the way through, and I thought Polly was a very realistic and likable character. Hank Azaria was so cute as Claude! Okay, so he was meant to be the villain, but come on, he's BUFF. He has a six pack and the French accent was just amazing. He is really talented if he can do about 5 different voices in 'The Simpsons' and then the Frenchiest French accent ever, here. Debra Messing made a small role as Lisa but she wasn't anything great, Philip Seymour Hoffman was hilarious as Sandy Lyle. I thought the character was gross, but very likable.

Not the best from Stiller or Aniston, but still delivers laughs.

Once again, Ben Stiller gives us yet another comedy, about love, life and being an adult nerd. Yet, this sadly doesn't hold a candle to 'Something About Mary', which may have been his best movie of his career.

We begin the film, seeing Reuben (Stiller) marrying Lisa (Messing). After their reception they head to St. Bartes, for their honeymoon. While on the beach they meet a French scuba instructor who has offered to take them out on his boat. Rebuen declines because he has a nervous stomach, but he insists that his beautiful new bride go, to make her happy. When he returns later that day to the boat, he finds his wife cheating on him. Upset, and hurt, he flies home, depressed that he has not only lost his wife, but now has decisions to deal with because of hers.

Enter Polly. Several days after he returns to New York, his friend takes him to a party where he runs into a waitress (Aniston), whom he went to school with when he was in junior high. He calls her the next day and asks her out. Throughout the rest of the film, he learns how to deal with his phobias, irritations and just how to cut loose.

Each time I see this film, it somehow has the opposite effect on me as most, where as normally I grow to love the film more and more, each time I see it, this one actually, seems to get worse and worse with each viewing. It is funny, and it's not a bad film at all, it's clever and cute, it's just that it does tend to lose flavor each time you see it.

Aniston and Stiller were equally good in this, and I still recommend it. It's a light comedy, and not at all like, 'The Cable Guy' or 'There's Something About Mary'. So, if you're looking for films that were as dark or adult as those, you won't find it here. But, it still is cute and clever in its own way, so it might still be worth a watch. Plus, Alec Baldwin plays a small part, which is not to be missed.