Piovuta dal cielo

FORCES OF NATURE / (1999) **

"Forces of Natures" is a romantic comedy that gradually builds for a presumably happy conclusion, but completely disregards its momentum in the end, making this movie a hypocrite of itself. Although advancing through this story is sometimes amiable fun, the ending results are forgettable and pointless.

The movie's entire story is a series of uncanny coincidences ranging from heart attacks and drug busts to robbery and fires. Book-jacket blurbologist Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck), is becoming married to his fiancée, Bridget (Maura Tierney), in two days. At his bachelor party in New York, a stripper excites his grandfather into cardiac arrest. Ben stays with his relative a little while then catches a flight back to Georgia where Bridget is waiting.

Ben meets a young woman making out with her romantic interest at the airport. This woman, the pretty Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock), later ends up sitting next to him on the plane. Ben is a very nervous flyer, and when his flight crashes before it leaves the ground he becomes even more profoundly afraid of flying.

He and Sarah buddy-up with a man at the port hitching a ride to his wedding destination. This man turns out to be a criminal, however, and is busted with the unlikely pair in the car with him.

Many more events occur keeping Ben away from his wedding location. Such circumstances include a train wreck, a striptease, and mistaken identity. His parents (Michael Fairman and Janet Carroll), are not happy with his findings or state of affairs.

The film's conflict is getting Ben from New York to Savannah, Ga. to wed with his fiancée. No recent structure complicates its initial problem as clearly as "Forces of Nature," imaginatively written by Marc Lawrence. The gradual increase of passion between Ben and Sarah makes for rich romantic chemistry, although there is none developed between Bridget and Ben. "Forces of Nature" concentrates on creating chemistry with Sarah and Ben, but never with Bridget. I did not know what to believe. Is Ben in love with Sarah in which he has known for only a few days, or is his heart with his eagerly waiting to wed fiancée?

Lame conversations featuring Ben and Bridget on a bed videotaping themselves enhances what little character development present. Such lame dialogue present includes "I'm scared" and "It's the rest of our lives." Why doesn't the movie show us how the two characters feel about marriage instead of explaining it?

"Forces of Nature" contains an interesting style, consisting of neat camera effects, scenes cut short, believable cinematography and jaunty soundtrack numbers. Some of the film's style is over the top, however. There is a magical hailstorm sequence that plays like a music video on MTV. And most of the film's laughs come from witty one liners, not the many incidences of stylish film making.

Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock are the right choices for Ben and Sarah. They bring forth effective performances thanks in part to stylish directing and cleverly written dialogue. Most of the final segments of the second act are spent on Ben making a decision between spending his life with Bridget or Sarah. Though the entire second act is wasted anyway in the manner this movie concludes itself.

"Forces of Nature" is a movie too silly for serious romantics and overly thought-provoking for audiences looking for a good laugh. Teenagers may identify with the film's glossy look. But for most viewers, this is just a music video with plot.

This is a review of the DVD version of "Forces of Nature".

My wife and I rented this movie because we like Sandra Bullock, especially, and also Ben Affleck. We didn't have high expectations, except to be entertained. And we found it very entertaining and not particularly predictable. Affleck, the prospective groom, has to make his way to Savanna in two days after a plane problem, complicated by an arriving hurricane. He meets up with the ditsy Bullock, and both of them learn quite a bit about themselves.

If you watch the special features on the DVD, Bullock explains how every one you meet, even short "chance" meetings, have some impact on you, and this is a large part of what the movie tries to convey. And it does it very well. There's good acting, lots of interesting "developments", and a very good story in total. I give it 7 of 10. It is a much better movie than I expected.

The DVD picture is very well done, and the sound track likewise, with appropriate use of the rear surround channels. My only complaint? Not enough bass rumble during the lightning and thunder scenes during the storms.

July 2010 update: Saw it again, a pretty entertaining movie with a good message.

May 2020 update: Ditto.

Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck star in this romantic comedy. Ben (Affleck) gets stranded in New York when his plane skids out of control, the trouble is he is getting married in 2 days and his only way back seems to be a ride with a free-spirited traveller called Sarah (Bullock)

The duo get into lots of trouble on their road trip and the results are pretty amusing. Affleck and Bullock both provide nice performances without ever excelling in the roles, the screenplay is nicely written and the direction is nice also.

Basically it's a nice movie, with enough humour and charm to entertain, but it will never be a classic. 6/10

It seems on the surface to be a romantic _planes, trains and automobiles_ but at times tried for something more, where it failed miserably. Some may like the nontraditional ending, but the attempts at "deep insight" into the world of marriage flopped around not really going anywhere.

But if you were interested by the story, the movie tried other methods to distract you. The unnecessary special effects, of which the falling rain was the most obvious, served to do nothing but annoy. The camera-work is erratic at best.

One note of caution, however. My movie experience as a whole was less than satisfying, sitting in the first row with a group of young'uns around...

"Forces Of Nature" got my attention from the start and didn't let up until the end. Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock star as airline passengers brought together by the forces of nature while Ben Affleck's character Ben Holmes is on his way to his wedding. Maura Tierney portrays his fiancée and she brought life to a character that was in the background. This is the perfect set up for "Forces Of Nature" because it seems when Ben and Sarah Lewis make progress; the forces of nature somehow get in the way.

Maybe it's a sign that Ben is with wrong lady or maybe it's a way to let Ben think about the future. As I was viewing this film, I thought to myself Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock must have had fun making this film because it seemed that every time they were on screen together they were enjoying each other's company. One disaster after another occurred but Ben and Sarah made the best out of the situation and did a pretty good job.

One outstanding performance came from the late David Strickland in his final film role. It was unfortunate to hear about Strickland's death because his role in this film showed the world that he can act well on the big screen. I was smiling every time he was on screen because I knew I would get something special from his performance.

"Forces of Nature" is a well-written film that I found to have a lot of heart and dealt with many issues. I suggest that everyone check out "Forces Of Nature" because any and all of the Ben Affleck or Sandra Bullock fans out there will enjoy the film.