Seven Girlfriends

Although the movie is a bit slow at first, the viewer will be rewarded for his or her patience. Excellent depiction of fantasy. This little gem features numerous humorous situations that many of us may recognize from our own lives--very funny sexual fantasies, leaving messages on the answering machine that you live to regret, swearing off men or women forever, people who believe they possess psychic powers, etc. As an example, a funeral scene and the subsequent wake will make you laugh until you cry. You will still be laughing days later.

If you are a fan of Tim Daly, like I am, you may have no idea of his gift for physical comedy. The supporting cast is also very good.

"Seven Girlfriends" is an unusually fresh and creative light comedy centered on one man and the many women in his life, past and present. The flick is technically and artistically a journeyman effort with a solid distaff which trods gently upon its humble protagonist. A little herky-jerky with lots of flash backing, "Seven..." is full of surprises with little to fault. A good video watch for guys and gals in the mood for a light hearted comedy which celebrates the foibles of heterosexual relationships.

This movie was about a man's search to find out what he is doing wrong in his relationships with women. This subject is intriguing because all of us men want to know how to keep that special woman in our lives. Although the answers were not really found and the film was not all that revelatory, I still got a chuckle seeing Tim Daly trying to sort through his mistakes and find out what went wrong. A good supporting cast helped the movie move along smoothly, and I must admit there are some very beautiful women in this film which made me stick around until the end. Overall, a good film, especially for men, who would like to put themselves in another guy's shoes to see how one man tries to improve his relations with the opposite sex.

Tim Daly is very good in his role as a man who can't seem to make a relationship last. En route to the funeral of his ex-girlfriend, who was once his fiancée, he talks with each of his girlfriends to discover why the relationships didn't last. There are some really inspired bits in this film, particularly at his lesbian ex's party and one reason his high-school sweetheart gives for breaking up: His voice is too high when he sings along with the radio(we hear evidence in the film). He responds: "It's harmony!" The one thing I liked about this film more than anything was the ending. Some movies I've seen kind of left me empty or had a really unresolved ending. But not this film. I'm not going to give away too much, but just say it really left me satisfied. I highly recommend this film, to anyone who wants a simple romantic comedy.

"Seven Girlfriends", has many moments of potentially inspired comedy each of which are dampened to the point of being merely ok by the TV-style direction of Paul Lazaras. Oddly enough, Lazaras also had a hand in the very screenplay he almost ruins with his mediocre direction (but before handing out the Pulitzer, it should be noted that the basic plot of this film--an immature man seeks out old girlfriends to find out why he is incapable of maintaining a relationship--is very, very similar to Nick Hornby's 1996 novel "High Fidelity", itself recently made into a superior film by Steven Frears).

In the hands of a director less hack-ified by his TV experience, and with a more interesting lead player than the similarly TV-bland Timothy Daly, the screenplay of "Seven GF's", as written, with its blend of heart-felt sentiment and gross-out humor, could have been a big, big, "Something About Mary" hit. And before anyone who's a fan of this film jumps me for comparing the tame final product "7GFs" became to a Farrely Brothers movie, lets not forget the scene in "7GFs" where a character creams in his pants during a mild good-night kiss. AND lets not forget how bland the director made the moment. I mean, really--how do you make that kind of thing bland?!

SO, time to do a remake. Get the Farrelys (or at least a director who hasn't been turned to mush by directing too many TV shows) and get a star who has some kind of...I don't know...charisma, or talent, or sense of humor, or light behind his eyes or something! I mean, nothing against Daly as an actor--for TV he's fine. But he's not an interesting person to watch; he gives a perfect reading of someone you would get bored with at a party. Give us Ben Stiller, or John Cusack--somebody with a spark. Somebody who can make us laugh, and think, and occasionally cringe with recognition.

At least when you see a really BAD movie made from a good screenplay, the script gets buried--you can't really tell there was any potential. But when you see a mediocre movie made out of a good screenplay, all you can think about as you watch it is--"man, that SHOULD have been good!"

This one should have been good.