Partners 'n Love

I had very little interest in watching this, however I was in the mood one night for something with Eugene Levy that I hadn't seen, and there were limited options. Seeing that this was available, I put it on.

This was also directed by Levy, and frankly the only thing he directed that I finished. ('Sodbusters' was baaaaad.)

This was likely filmed in 1991, and then premiered on TV in Canada in '92. As a comedy in this day and age, it's too slow. Levy's character is neurotic and annoying. I'm assuming that's where the comedy was supposed to come in. Kash is alright, and believable as her character. There just wasn't very much to laugh at, and I never laughed out loud once. I made it through the movie, so it kept my attention, but I thought about it the next morning, and honestly, I just found it boring. It's just a relationship drama with Levy playing an annoying guy. I love him in later comedic films, but this is a dull film, and I can't recommend it to anyone.

If you're able to get over the initial shock of seeing Eugene Levy, John Hemphill, Linda Kash and other SCTV / Second City alumni in a "serious" romantic comedy you may actually enjoy this. Levy and Kash are divorced but still working together and getting along just fine until they learn that their divorce was never official due to a technicality. The seemingly trivial task of sorting this out leads them to re-examine their lives and relationship, with the help (or not) of their aggressive lawyers.

Despite the lingering feeling that this is the kind of movie these people are supposed to be making fun of, not making, this is not nearly as obnoxious as most movies about self-absorbed yuppies publicly working through their personal problems in the early '90s are. Levy and Kash, both wonderful comic actors, work well together and turn potentially unpleasant characters into warm, laid-back people you actually care about. Hemphill is also very funny as Levy's over-the-top lawyer. These actors manage to infuse a dose of levity into a wooden script basically devoid of jokes.

A nice, inoffensive TV movie, but the potentially hilarious and endearing performances are wasted on the script. Not recommended unless you're a real fan of the actors.