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Watching this film for the second time I found it wasn't as good as i'd initially remembered.

Vince Vaughn is excellent in a straight dramatic role and his performance really carries the film, his interaction with his son is the main selling point. Joey Lauren Adams, although not given a whole lot to do, is very charming but remains two dimensional. Monica Potter does OK with a fairly thankless role but like Adams, her character's moods and motivations are never really explored. As a examination of the relationship between father and son the film does its job, however the various subplots are neglected and give the feeling of being there solely to pad the runtime.

Overall not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, just don't expect to be blown away by it.

Vince Vaughn is very convincing as a single father in this film! The most intriguing feature of this film is Vince out of funny! This is my first experience with him not trying to make me laugh, and yes, he did make me cry! Torn between new love, new job, old feelings and a child, his character took me on a roller-coaster ride that didn't end until the credits rolled!!! If you see no other Vaughn movie this one is a must! Not only is the story great, but Vince is gentle and compassionate; a father that takes his job as a parent most seriously. The angst in his day-to-day struggle as a parent and a man will leave you thinking about parenthood long after the movie has ended!

Russell Durrell (Vince Vaughn) moves to rural Kansas with his son Calvin after getting fired as a trial lawyer in Chicago. His wife Kate (Monica Potter) abandoned them leaving the family shattered. Russell got a job working for his school friend and is coaching the high school basketball team. Noah is one of his troubled players. Russell starts going out with Noah's older sister Beth Ward (Joey Lauren Adams). Their lives are further complicated when Kate shows up.

This is like Kramer vs Kramer but it doesn't have the same touching emotions. The kid is rather bratty and bitter. It's not unreasonable but it's off-putting. The movie tries to give him some humor with the female anatomy but it doesn't really work. Vaughn has the same feel. The three leads are great. It might be useful to see what happened in Chicago. Something is wrong with this movie but it's nothing glaring.

I enjoyed "A Cool Dry Place". I found it to be a mellow but entertaining drama about a man's life. It'a very true to life story. Separated Man is out of work, man finds job he isn't happy with, man's ex-wife wants another go just as he finally starts dating a girl he really begins to love, man gets offered a "dream job" but must travel to take it, man's son is stuck in the middle of this. It's well-wtitten, for the most part, but I didn't like the pace. Vince Vaughn is capable of being a funny guy(see Swingers), but they gave his character virtually no sense of humor. I found myself giggle only ocassionally, and never busting out with laughter..while it was a drama, and not meant to be comedic, slow-moving dramas like this could benefits from some laughs. The acting is mostly good, even by child actor Bobby Moat. I'd like to see him take more child roles, as he seems very mature and understands the art of acting well for a child of his age. Vince Vaughn, who's quickly becoming one of my favorites, is well-cast but his talent is underused in this movie. His two love interests, Joey Lauren Adams, and Monica Potter are both nice to looks at, but the only the former seemed comfortable with her role. Joey is a pleasure to watch, while her voice may annoy some, I think it's just part of her charm, a charm that is abundant in this one. On the other hand, Monica Potter seemed nervous and on edge her whole on-screen performance. She doesn't show the true emotion seen in Vaughn, and Adams. Monica has done much better work than this. Like i said, the acting was good, the script was pretty good, the plot was good, but the screenwriter never gave us a climatic moment. This was my problem with the film, which was the same problem I had with "The trigger effect". It's a splendid movie, entertaining usually, but there's never that moment of climax that keeps you glued to the tube. While I found myself liking the movie, and finding it very interesting, I also found myself having a difficult time paying attention about half-way through.

It's definitely worth-watching though..check it out.

'A Cool, Dry Place' is not a bad film by and means and I think Smith's intentions were genuine but there's just something about it that doesn't make the film stay in mind. Perhaps it's the too familiar plot. The film is a little on the mellow side but enjoyable and has some very funny moments and gives a warm feeling. The location of the setting is refreshing and the score adds well to the country mood. Both Joey Lauren Adams and Monica Potter do well. Adams's performance is more natural while Potter's effort is sincere (she did have the harder part) but it is Vince Vaughn's film. The actor is outstanding. All the actors share a good chemistry that shines on screen. On the whole this 'A Cool, Dry Place' is a nice warm film but it's not one that stayed after ending. Perhaps I should give it another chance.