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Russ (Vince Vaughn) has moved to a little town on the prairie. Once a hotshot Chicago lawyer, he lost his job when his wife took off and left him the sole provider for his five year old son. Now a country lawyer with a big house and yard, Russ and wee Calvin are learning to adjust. Calvin is making friends and loves the wide open spaces while Russ starts dating a nice veterinary assistant named Beth (Joey Lauren Adams, looking very lovely). But, unhappily, the ex-wife, Kate (Monica Potter) suddenly returns and wants time with her son, messing with Russ's mind. Then, too, Russ believes he needs a higher profile job to feel complete. How will it all end? This is an excellent movie about a single-parent father and his young son. But, alas, the film's cover and description lead one to believe it is a love triangle story, with hardly a mention for the darling little boy. Not so. The movie is about finding out what is important in life and what is not, with most of its footage devoted to the special relationship between a parent and a child. Vaughn is excellent as the caring father, just excellent. If you are a fan of his comedic talents, you might be surprised by the depth of his acting range. Adams is likewise very attractive as a small town girl with a big heart while Potter delivers a fine performance in a thankless, complex role. The rest of the cast is up to par as well, the costumes well-chosen and the grassland setting most beautiful. In short, you may never have heard of this film but it is richly rewarding and deserves a large audience. You will not be in a "high and dry" situation if you bring this film home tonight.

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!

This is by far the best movie I've seen. I've read the book which doesn't vary much, but again. It's amazing. I think Vince was spectacular stepping out of the odd array of characters he has played in the past to portray "Gordon" in such a perfect manner... Read the book "Dance real slow" by Michael Grant Jaffe. It will be well worth the time...

A Cool Dry Place is yet another film that helps make the point about small independent movies being better than most studio films. I try to pick out unknown movies with known stars. That's how I came upon A Cool Dry Place. Vince Vaughn stars as a single dad trying to adjust to life in a small town after years of being a married, working city man. Vince is torn between the characters played by Joey Lauren Adams, and Monica Potter. Adams is much more tolerable in this movie than she is in most of her other films I have seen. I think its because her character has more of an edge, and isn't always trying to be a sweetheart like her characters in other movies are. I don't really care for Monica Potter. I would say she gets the job done, but nothing more. The actor playing Vaughn's son is wonderful because he's not as annoying as most child actors are.

I admit that this movie is kind of slow, and struggles to keep your attention for about ninety minutes. If you make it that far, the climax to the movie is magnificent, and leaves the audience with a wonderful feeling as the credits roll.

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.