Autour de Lucy

I loved Monica Potter in 'The Very Thought of You,' and was excited to see this 2002 romantic comedy starring the actress. Like 'The Very Thought of You,' 'I'm With Lucy' has a wacky premise: show the audience five different guys' dates with one girl, and hint that she'll marry one of them before the movie's over. It almost sounds like a concept for a reality show, and maybe it would have made a better tv show than a movie.

The storytelling mechanism (a little snippet of each of the five dates, then the cycle begins again) is gutsy, and I was intrigued by the idea. However, somewhere during all those dates, we lose track of who Lucy really is... She's drunk in one, and in all the others, seems strangely affected by the man she's with. She's a bit too chameleon-like for me to relate to, I guess.

The guys are all interesting... I especially liked John Hannah as Doug, though I may be biased since I adored him in Sliding Doors. The others are good, nothing horrible about their performances.

I think the main problem was the script. I kept cringing at the lines, which made the actors appear as if they were trying so hard to make this movie work that they didn't have any fun. But, as I was reminded by someone the other day, good actors can't save a movie -- they can only elevate it. I think Monica Potter and the other's elevated 'I'm With Lucy', but alas, they couldn't save it.

I do look forward to Monica's next foray into the genre. She can be fun to watch if given the right script and support.

Lucy (Monica Potter) has just been dumped in an ELEVATOR...in front of a group of people! Only moments before, she told a friend that she thought this guy was the one. Men stink, don't they? Well, not all, read on. After an appropriate mourning period, she goes out with five men. One is a blind date (John Hannah) and Lucy is so nervous, she is tipsy by the time he arrives. Sparks don't fly. Another pal sets her up with Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia), a full-of-himself ballplayer who wants her to cook him dinner, not take him to a Vivaldi concert. Other dates include a hot Latin gardener, a handsome doctor, and a shy businessman (Henry Thomas). Will Lucy fall for any of these guys? This is one of those romantic comedies that sports the whole package. It has good looking stars, an intelligent and funny script, great costumes, nice settings and more. Julie Christie and Harold Ramis make a nice appearance as Lucy's parents, too. Best of all, the movie has a very imaginative format, alternating and interspersing clips of Lucy's five encounters until, finally, the film comes to a happy ending. In short, its romcom heaven time for all of the genre's fans....and even for those who aren't. Few people will be able to resist Lucy's charms so order up a copy today.

I just went out and saw "I'm with Lucy" and to be honest it was more than I expected it to be. I was thinking it was just going to be another typical chick flick, but this one was different.

It follows Lucy, who has just been dumped by her boyfriend in an elevator (with other people around), and is trying to move on with her life. So, she goes out on 5 blind dates over the course of so long. A year I think.

Date 1: Doug, an antamologist. Lucy doesn't want to go on a blind date so she locks herself in her bathroom drunk until her sister boots her out.

Date 2: Gabriel, a play write. There is such a physical attraction between the two that they start to kiss.

Date 3: Bobby, a baseball player for the Mets. He comes on too agressive that Lucy doesn't like.

Date 4: Barry, a Software Co. owner who is a major geek. But in a charming way.

Date 5: Luke, a doctor/ physical therapist, who is smart, handsome, and seems flawless.

Over the course of the movie, it follows Lucy's first date with each of these guys and at the end she marries one of them. Can you guess which?

Originally I only rented this movie becasue I am a HUGE David Boreanaz fan and I was pleasently surprised with his character and his portrayal of Luke. I was also very pleasently surprised with the movie itself. Monica Potter and the rest of the cast did an amazing job! Go rent this if you need a up lifting self movie! It lifted my spirits for the night!

Lucy is quite unsympathetic, messed up and a total nag. She has her moments, but I didn't understand nor did I believe that any of the men could be bothered dating here more than once except maybe for the sex. The script is ultra thin, making it one of those pictures that stands or falls with the performance of the lead. Lucy is played by Monica Potter, who couldn't make me care one iota about Lucy. She reminded me of all the spoiled, obnoxious girls you avoided like the plague in college. So what's left? Fine performances, well, more like cameos really, by LaPaglia, Hannah and Thomas and Julie Christie does a strange turn as a Jewish mother. Yes, that's right. Garcia Bernal and Boreanaz are wasted, especially Garcia Bernal. Pass on this one.

Self-doubting Lucy (Monica Potter) gets dumped by her 'perfect' boyfriend. She becomes depressed and her sister Jo (Julianne Nicholson) pushes her to date. Barry (Henry Thomas), Luke (David Boreanaz), Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia), Doug (John Hannah), and Gabriel (Gael García Bernal) are five of those men.

The structure of this film is interesting, inventive, and ultimately a failure. By chopping up the five relationships into a random roulette sequence, the tension is never allowed to build up. It doesn't help that Lucy is so different with each man and the effect becomes disjointing. That does lead to the second problem. Monica Potter is gorgeous and she's not this neurotic character. There could have some self doubt but this character's interior monologue is trying to be Woody Allen. Not to mention that her character changes from one date to the next. She's playing five or more characters. It's interesting to see her stretch her acting chops but it's still a problem. Overall, this has some fun and some intrigue. Mostly, it's disjointed and flat.