My Mom's New Boyfriend

I'm usually pretty forgiving when it comes to romantic comedies, especially those out of Hollywood. They often are borderline insipid, clichéd, predictable, and dull-witted, but those that aren't completely inept still manage to entertain to varying degrees. Unfortunately, "My Mom's New Boyfriend" falls way below the grade and fails even at being mildly amusing.

First, it isn't necessary for a movie like this to be smart or particularly realistic, but it should have some integrity so that we can actually believe in the characters. Here, in the prologue, we see Henry Durand (Colin Hanks), who clearly has a close relationship with his Mom, Marty (Meg Ryan), leaving home and Mom behind to start a job with the FBI. Flash forward three years, and Henry returns home -- apparently, without even once having visited or talked to his Mom in all that time. Now I'm sure the FBI requires a certain amount of secrecy, but it sure doesn't require its agents to cut off all communication with their nearest and dearest for three years. Right off the bat, the phoniness of the set-up sinks any chance at viewer empathy with any of the characters.

Second, the characters themselves are about the most unlikeable I can think of in any romantic comedy I've ever seen. I'd rather spend a weekend locked in a cell with Barbara Stone (Bette Midler's character in "Ruthless People") than 15 minutes with the insufferably egotistical, vapid Marty Durand. Ryan is just awful here, and I usually enjoy her performances. She badly overplays Marty's zany qualities with ticks and vocal histrionics that are way over-the-top, and she seems to have lost whatever limited gifts she had for physical comedy. Maybe the knife slipped and the surgeons cut something else out when they were redesigning her face. She looks like she's trying to look like Michelle Pfeiffer and failing miserably. It has to be the worst performance of her career, and probably the worst of the year. Hanks, perhaps trying to counterweight Ryan's annoying performance, is as lifeless as a paperweight. He glowers and scowls through the film. Neither Antonio Banderas nor Selma Blair have enough to do to make much of an impression, though Banderas manages at least to be somewhat charming through the muddle of the storyline. Actually, the only genuinely funny performance in the film is from Trevor Morgan, in a small part as a young stud Ryan dates.

The film piles bad jokes one on top of the other and beats to death what wasn't particularly funny the first time -- the Italian chef who pines for Marty, the FBI agents' jokes about how hot Marty supposedly is, etc. I guess it does this because it has nothing else to do. There's just nothing going on here, no romance, almost no comedy, certainly no suspense, and we lost logic in the first five minutes. The only thing that can recommend this movie is seeing the crack-up of a once gifted actress. There's a certain fascination in that, Ryan's performance is a slow-moving train wreck. I hope she gets it together and comes back in better form next time.

Nice film that is more enjoyable than you would think. Sure, a bit predictable and not over the top with comedy; but, watch as a couple and it's a nice way to spend an evening. You'll see some familiar character actors and you'll enjoy the behind the scenes piano playing by Eli Danker and Banderas dancing with Ryan. Not a blockbuster; but, not everything can be.

What a cheap movie. I can't believe Meg Ryan's performance and Banderas' too. Meg Ryan's face became a female joker (Jack Nicholson's joker). She said she went to Tibet i read Kuran etc. and said she understood reason of life is a fun. What a stupid and cheap philosophy. This movie and movies like this movie say to people 'You are stupid and we have money from that'. Can I explain? . Morals are so bad too. Comedy is bad, drama is bad, performances are bad, story is too bad, disgusting director. This movie just spent my time and makes me angry. I wanna say too much things but my English is not good. greetings from turkey.

It has to stop. Critics don't even go to the screenings of romantic comedies anymore. Doesn't anyone want to have a good time? Yes, most of the time a disaster is meant to happen because the industry has ran out of ideas and thus people have lost the faith in romantic comedies; but this isn't an excuse for writing reviews that sometimes indicate that critics may not have seen the film or that talk more about Meg Ryan's surgery than her performance.

"My mom's new boyfriend" stars Ryan as Marty, the mother of Henry (Colin Hanks), an FBI agent, and a woman who was once extremely fat but now when Henry comes back from a very long work trip, is completely unrecognizable. I don't know what surgeries everyone mention, but the woman Henry sees by the pool is very hot and I guess that's why a mysterious art thief (Antonio Banderas) falls for her.

I don't know why anyone would enter this film badly predisposed. Firstly, It has Meg Ryan, eternal queen of romantic comedies. Is she in a bad acting phase? Nonsense: watch "In the land of women" and "In the cut" and tell me if I'm wrong. Secondly, it has Antonio Banderas, whom I don't like but I prefer him laughing of himself and smiling rather than pretending to be serious. Here, the actor and actress have chemistry and if they were laughing of themselves it certainly made a positive effect.

What else? Colin Hanks, who showed his comedic chops in the excellent "Get over it" and in the very good "Orange County". And Selma Blair plays a delightful supporting role. Who dislikes Selma Blair? Am I selling this movie to you, by defending its participants? You bet I am. Take in consideration it's not a great movie (which romantic comedy is these days; I can accept that) and I knew nothing about its director George Gallo, who also wrote it.

Gallo seems to be a kind man. The chemistry between this 'unexpected cast' (take a good look again and you'll realize you would have never expected to see those four together) proves this; and his script, unoriginal and uncompromised, reaffirms it. The key word here is 'uncompromised', because "My mom's new boyfriend" doesn't break into new ground of the classic formulas or contains many laughable jokes (there were two or three times I truly laughed, though), but that's not where you should look.

Maybe it's too convenient, but it's as if Gallo knew that romantic comedies are taken less seriously these days, so he provides a direction that is not safe (that would be a disaster), which is what someone would do to secure a hit, but it's definitely pleasing. The thing is that Gallo makes it pleasing in the best form he could, with a fast-paced rhythm and a fun edition that accentuates it; a lineal storyline and a preoccupation for characters.

Don't be surprised if you identify with some of these beings. I'm sure you've seen them before but as complete stereotypes. "My mom's new boyfriend" is short, but in its duration finds time to construct its characters and establish their personalities by giving each one of them interesting things to say. Because I love romantic comedies I try to notice details, and I understand if by now you see me as someone not to trust when it comes to this genre. I've already learned to let myself go and forgive minimal trespasses in occasions; but I'm writing objectively, and I'm writing the truth.

"My mom's new boyfriend" is a good romantic comedy. Now tell me about the 'twist'…You couldn't have seen that one coming.

Gallo's 'My Mom's New Boyfriend' isn't half as bad as it's been made out to look. On the one had I expected something downright awful given what I'd heard but on the other hand how bad could it be if it's got Meg Ryan, Colin Hanks and Selma Blair? but hey, just because I didn't find it to be truly abysmal, by no means am I implying that it's great. The plot may be an interesting premise for a comedy but the story is silly mostly because of the poor writing. The comedic situations mostly work because of the actors. Meg Ryan, Colin Hanks and Selma Blair are solid. They do feel like a family. This isn't by any means their best movie but they make it work and watchable. Antonio Banderas's role is more of a cliché and the actor follows formula but is clearly overshadowed. Overall, it's a fun movie to watch with the family. Even though it's nowhere near a classic, there's plenty to laugh about.