Une affaire de coeur

This movie reminds me of the romantic screwball comedies from the 30's, 40's and 50's. The movie succeeds in following the humor, witty dialogs and great pace witch made the romantic comedies of old so great. That is, until the ending. The entire ending is ruined, copy-pasted from every other average romantic comedy today (they split up, the guilty one realizes his/her fault and runs to his/her lover and spills his/her guts out... and they live happily ever after). It is not the director's fault, he even tried his best to make the ending not so sleazy (aka the excellent wedding scene). Pierce Brosnan is great, in some scenes even better then Moore, reminds me of Cary Grant, James Stewart in their best work (Bringing up Baby, The Philadelphia Story...). Brosnan is actually becoming a much better actor than he was 6-7 years before. Julianne Moore is, as always, excellent. The supporting is actually also great, from Sheen, Posey, Fisher, Dunn to the locals in the Irish village. All in all a great screwball comedy which has not been made in years, if the ending were any better...

Peter Howitt's "Laws of Attraction" is an excuse to present two attractive actors in a light comedy that should have been much better than what one sees on the screen.

Julianne Moore is one of the great actresses working in the American cinema these days. She projects a luminous presence in everything she undertakes. In fact, this gorgeous woman is about the best thing in the film. Pierce Brosnan, on the other hand, plays the rogue lawyer with no scruples. He will do anything to undermine the woman he is supposed to be in love with.

Some of the minor characters were fun to watch in action. Frances Fisher, who could be Ms. Moore's older sister in real life, has been called to played her mother! Yes, by the magic of this inspired casting, Ms. Fisher is the mother that, having a great figure, and a nice personality, can still attract men, on her own terms. She resents being called "mother", and frankly, who can blame her? Parker Posey is excellent, as usual. Nora Dunn, as Judge Abramowitz, shows she should be seen more often.

While there are some funny moments, the film feels flat at times.

Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant and Doris Day may have made better screwball comedies, but this one just about works, by downplaying punchlines and taking obvious idiocies as read, such as the leads' addictions to sweeties and their penchant for falling through doors or knocking things over. But with these traits, how is it their apartments are immaculate? A directorial faux-pas here.

Julianne Moore is wonderful as usual, playing the rather uptight divorce lawyer, impressed despite herself with Brosnan's physical attractions. She is a mistress of the personality contrasts: sweet smile against dagger-drawn eyes; disconcerted reactions with suave sophistication; professional aplomb in the courtroom, but slobbing out in front of the TV. She is not only determined to resist Brosnan but successfully compete against him, while her mother, brilliantly played by Frances Fisher, is determined to persuade her to accept his overtures. Frances Fisher almost steals the film with her over-the-top, much-married, society fashion character, distinctly contrasting with Julianne Moore's more stuffy persona (reminiscences of Edina and Saffy in Absolutely Fabulous?).

I cringed at the scenes in Ireland, but this film does not pretend to be anything other than a sweet-thing romantic comedy of deliberate game-playing. It doesn't go for stand-up jokes, but just bowls along happily in its overdose of sugar. Moore is marvelous in serious drama (The Hours and Far From Heaven) but is proving equally at home with zany comedy (see also Cookie's Fortune). Brosnan relies on his handsome looks to see him through any part, but his comedy timing is as excellent as Moore's. The characters' common clumsiness is as well-timed as anything Doris Day did in That Touch Of Mink, or Cary Grant in Monkey Business. Given that Brosnan and Moore are more often seen in adventure or drama, an outing into comedy does not go amiss and gives us a chance to see them do something different. I wasn't sure of the film to begin with, but it grew on me. As long as it is accepted as a light and frothy entertainment, with no other purpose than whiling away a Sunday afternoon in front of the fire with a box of chocolates, it's a fine movie. Does Frances Fisher ever play any other character than someone's mother?

Audrey Woods is one of the best, nay, THE best divorce attorney in town. She has never lost a case and she is about to continue that winning streak with her latest case. When she meets her opposing counsel she has no reason to think that this scruffy man poses any threat to her. When he hands her her ass she steps up the competition and so begins a tense relationship in the courtroom. However outside of the court, the couple find a certain chemistry growing between them but surrounded by so many divorces and arguments how could anything good come of it?

Billed as a big name romantic comedy in the mould of sparky screwball romances of the forties and fifties this comedy at times is great fun but at others falls terribly flat. Given what it was basing itself of it should be no surprise that the first half is the best with energetic duelling between the two leads. Later on the script has to deliver a believable romance out of this and here is where it really falters. It suddenly becomes this twinkly affair in Ireland where love blooms, although it doesn't really although it might. It is a difficult hurdle to get over and the film doesn't really manage it and the final third is deeply unconvincing and hard to care about as it mugs its way towards the inevitable conclusion. It is strange that McKenna's script is so slick when it is in the "banter" stage but so heavy with syrup and silly cliché towards the end, almost like all the talent was put into the first half, leaving nothing for the latter stages.

Brosnan and Moore do try hard to make it work and mostly they succeed, but the material does gradually leave them out in the open. It helps that together they do manage an easy chemistry but later in the film they do struggle to convince with the more emotional side of the characters that exist outside of the fizz and snappy exchanges. Brosnan does well for the majority as he charms his way through but Moore can't seem to slide between the film's levels – she works with the snappy comedy stuff but when the emotional stuff comes she seems to drift between rom-com level acting and trying to go deeper. Support from Sheen, Posey, Fisher and a few others add some limited value around the edges but none can stop the script falling apart the longer it goes on.

Overall then what starts as a reasonable hark back to screwball romances gradually turns into an unconvincing, silly and sentimental affair that not even the big name stars can keep above the water. Not really worth a look for that reason.

You ever watch a movie that under normal circumstances you'd think was great and wonderful, but there is something about the movie that keeps you from fully enjoying it? It gets sort of stuck between being great and being good, so ends up in neither place, and you end up liking but not loving the movie. Ultimately the movie falls into abyss of "almost", and you very quickly forget it altogether.

Such is the curse of Laws of Attraction, a really good movie that's just sort of there. Half way into the movie I was wondering to myself why I wasn't connecting more with the movie since its funny, well acted, and very charming in all of the right ways. Somehow despite being able to see the quality I stopped caring what happened.

Can I recommend this romantic comedy about lawyers in love? Yes, its sweet and light and everything a good romantic comedy should be except memorable.

Rent it or wait for cable, but give it shot.

7 out of 10.