Deux semaines d'avis

Two weeks notice is a movie that is so completely lightweight in viewing, it's almost embarrassing to admit how much I liked it. But I did. I'm a big fan of romantic comedies but it seems like there is so much of a redundent churning out of crummy or average ones in the past few years, it's hard to keep them all straight.

This movie differentiates itself very much from other below average or at best, average or slightly above average romantic comedies. It's the same classic setup as a million other ones(see: "Maid in manhatten", "The wedding planner", runaway bride", "I love trouble" etc etc etc.) What makes this one a bit better then the above mentioned is the dialogue. It's actually funny! This is a movie that exists entirely on the witty "back and forth" barbs between Bullock and Grant's characters. It's peppered with zingy one liners and caustic banter and the result is a peppy, funny and entirely entertaining romantic comedy.

AS is NOT the case with some of those other movies I mentioned, this is one I will actually remember fully once the movie is over. Although nothing about the plot is realistic in the slightest, the banter is so much fun and the chemistry so cute and sassy, that it makes for very entertaining movie watching.

Anyone who's ever had that type of relationship will be able to relate. That fun type of relationship with a member of the opposite sex where chemistry and attraction is built slowly and sassily, where both people know their attracted to each other but haven't yet admitted that to each other so off they go into the world of sexual banter! This is a fun relatable romantic comedy that any fan of the two main stars should see. I happily give it an 8 out of 10.

TWO WEEKS NOTICE (2002) *** Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Robert Klein, Dorian Missick, Heather Burns, Jason Antoon. Charming screwball romantic comedy with Bullock as an A-type/neo-hippie cum grass-roots lawyer who finds herself employed by wealthy conglomerate merger type businessman Grant and after attempting to get him to change his ways gives her titular ultimatum only to discover – you got it – they are really meant for one another. The film may be formulaic but its stars have that special, instant and utterly natural chemistry together helped with a crackling zingerfest screenplay by its director Marc Lawrence who manages to make the creaky device work even if its last act is by rote and Witt as Bullock's replacement (in more ways than one) is a pallid shadow of `All About Eve' .

I saw 'Two Weeks Notice' some years ago and didn't like it much. It seemed like a passable romantic comedy. I mean, the acting was overall good, the story a little old... it just felt like it lacked something. However, after having revisited it today, I actually liked it a lot more than before. Once one is passed the first half hour or so, I think he/she can really enjoy the film.

What makes the first half hour or so annoying is it's dragging pace and Hugh Grant. His character just comes across as extremely needy and perhaps it's not Grant's fault but the actor doesn't add anything new to his role. This is the kind of role that made him a star but he seems to have forgotten that there are other genres outside romantic comedy. Perhaps he wants to stick to a safer formula but I wonder how long people will continue watching him in the same kind of films playing similar roles. Anyway, after this initial half hour, he does decent in the acting department as he shows George's growth. We see his He shares a good chemistry with Sandra Bullock.

'Two Weeks Notice' belongs to Sandra Bullock and I think it is her acting and her character that make this film more likable. The woman is naturally beautiful and her comic timing is impeccable and it is no surprise that she's known as one of the finest comedy actresses (and she's great in other roles too). she has some of the best lines and she delivers them with complete ease.

I also loved the dialogues. There are some hilarious one-liners such as the barking chilli dog and the bobcat pretzel. After the dragging initial reel, the story moves at a good enough pace and gets funnier. Lawrence's screenplay and direction are good as the end result looks polished but some editing could have helped to tighten it up.

Overall, I think this funny film deserves a second chance as I liked it a lot more during the second viewing. I'm glad that I chose to watch it again.

"Two Weeks Notice" tells of the romantic misadventures of a playboy tycoon (Grant) and a "greenie" attorney (Bullock) who can't seem to get along until they finally realize what they can't get along without is each other. On the downside, the film is the usual romcom fare with nothing in particular to distinguish it from a panoply of peers. On the up side, the flick is chock full of Lawrence's humor which made "Miss Congeniality" and "Forces of Nature" so enjoyable. Entertaining stuff worth a look for Bullock or Grant fans and romcom junkies. (B-)

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

Hugh Grant is funny. Sandra Bullock is funny. "Two Weeks Notice" takes full advantage of both, and for a warm, if someone canned, romantic comedy, it's enjoyable.

The premise is two-fold. First is the idea that Bullock makes herself indispensable as an assistant to an unbelievably demanding boss (an precursor of the more recent "The Devil Wears Prada" though in this case Grant is also a bit incompetent). Then she has to give notice she is quitting. This makes Grant desperate, which is always fun to watch.

The other premise is the feel-good part where a community center with history needs to be saved, somehow (an echo, perhaps, of "You've Got Mail"). Bullock is a do-gooder and a smart one, and she finds working with Grant has threatened her idealism. In fact, this is the deeper part of the movie, if still treated with typical easy going slightness. I mean, this is no serious commentary for sure, any more than "My Man Godfrey" will really change our views about unemployment in the depression. But it helps to have a cause to root for.

Most of all I came to love Bullock for her natural on-screen personality. She's so likable in her own offbeat way you come to support her view of the world automatically. And in this case that's a good thing, even if you also understand how Grant's character is both a jerk and a lovable misguided rich man. Grant of course is his own kind of natural, and the two are rather good on screen. They might not have chemistry, the way you'd want the screen to steam up, but they have energy or synergy together, more like the other Grant (Cary) and some of his counterparts did in the old days.

I'm tilting this review toward a feeling that this is a screwball comedy as in the the late 30s and early 40s, and in a way it is, though not nutty enough perhaps to really qualify. It does have the standard romantic comedy problem of two leads who would be great together if only a million things weren't standing in the way.

This movie gets weak reviews overall, but I liked it, and don't hesitate to recommend it as a thin but enjoyable comedy.