=G=

In "The Closer", Sedgwick is Brenda Johnson, a Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief who goes out among 'em and solves crimes in the kinda-sorta mean streets of L.A. more or less single handedly while her cadre of male detectives look on with chagrin. A sort of lame knock-off of Colombo, Brenda is a perpetually addlepated, klutzy, and can't follow a road map but somehow manages to turn into Sherlock Holmes when it counts. The first few episodes of season one appear to be dedicated to fleshing out the very southern Brenda character - who is way below Sedgwick's abilities - while leaving plenty of hooks for future story lines should the series survive...which I doubt it will. An okay watch for sofa spuds who don't mind some corny light drama in their cop shows. Thankew. Thankew very much. (C)

Sarah (Lane), the film's centerpiece, is fortyish, recently divorced, and, of course, cringing at the prospect of getting back into the dating game. The body of the film is all about Sarah, surrounded by assorted kith and kin, struggling to cope with the difficult process of finding Mr. Right. A light hearted romp which is just a new take on an old but tried and true premise, "Must Love Dogs" avoids the extremes of edginess, quirkiness, schmaltz, and corn and concentrates on just being a pleasant up-beat ride to a foregone conclusion. Hard not to like but not likely to be memorable, this little bit of fluff got respectable though nominal marks from IMDb.com's voters including an average score from that hardest of all demographics to please, the 30-44 age of disillusionment group. "Must Love Dogs" should play well with females and their significant others, Lane and Cusak fans, and anyone in the mood for a low cal romcom DVD watch. (B)

"Red Eye" is all about Lisa (McAdams) who is simply trying to get home during a bad weather snarl at the airport and finds herself stuck on a red-eye and flying headlong into a suspense drama. A busy, fun little no brainer, "Red Eye" begins like a romcom, morphs into a suspense/action flick, and takes you on a simple-minded but entertaining girl power ride as Lisa races with the clock to save the day. Probably worth the price of a DVD rental, "Red Eye" will play best with fans of rising star McAdams and those who no brain it to avoid it's many nagging plot holes. Keep expectations real for maximum enjoyment. (B-)