Le célibataire

The sight of an army of brides in white chasing a man down the streets is a very unusual and funny one. It was especially funny the first time around, with Buster Keaton. In "Seven Chances" (1925) old stone face played a man who had been left an inheritance of a large sum of money ($7 million)under the condition that he get married before his next birthday...which happens to be the following day. His efforts to find a willing bride results in ridicule, a car wreck, etc. He finally puts an ad in the paper, telling the circumstances, and asking for the applying bride to meet him at the church. At least a thousand women ranging from fat, small, young, old, beautiful, downright misshapen arrive at the church. Well, the same exact thing happens in this movie "The Bachelor" (though inflation has turned $7 Million into $100 million), only I gotta say the Keaton version is still the original and unsurpassed (and unsurpassable) masterpiece. I actually couldn't believe they named it "The Bachelor", it's a very boring title.

I thought this movie was OK. Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellweger turn in OK performances. I think the language was too strong for a PG-13 film, and the film really lost steam in the last half hour or so. I liked the character of the priest, and Brooke Shields has an amusing cameo here. But the film on the whole isn't very good, and is forgettable. I think the premise was good and the execution was poor.

Released in 1999, "The Bachelor" is a romcom starring Chris O'Donnell as a commitment-phobic bachelor in San Francisco. When his grandfather dies he stands to inherit $100 million, but with the stipulation that he must be married by the next evening, amongst other conditions. Unfortunately, the woman he loves, Anne, is nowhere to be found (Renée Zellweger) so his best friend (Artie Lange) puts an ad in the paper, which attracts a thousand wannabe brides literally chasing the bachelor and his fortune. Marley Shelton plays Anne's sister while Edward Asner and Hal Holbrook have side roles.

The movie has a great cast and a fun vibe. O'Donnell and Zellweger are appealing protagonists, but I was bored by most of the first 45 minutes. Thankfully, the story perks up when the bachelor seeks out several past girlfriends and unconvincingly proposes. This sequence features entertaining cameos by the likes of Jennifer Esposito, Mariah Carey, Brooke Shields, Sarah Silverman, Stacy Edwards and Katharine Towne. Unfortunately, the filmmakers failed to take advantage of this wealth of feminine resources with the exception of the striking Esposito and Shields, the latter of whom is delightful as a gold-digging biyatch. The rest are underutilized. Nevertheless, Katharine Towne shines in her small role.

The most memorable sequence, of course, is the dude being chased through the streets of San Francisco by a thousand brides, but this only comprises about a dozen minutes of the movie. Those who favor romcoms might like this one better than I did. For me, it's not bad, but it's not good either, although there are some amusing moments. The plot is creative, but the script needed tweaked to flesh out its potential.

The film runs 101 minutes and was shot in San Francisco; downtown L.A. and USC; and Cook Ranch, Galisteo, New Mexico.

GRADE: C

Chris O'Donnell has a certain appeal. For me, it's his facial expressions. He is the master at portraying reactions by a mild mannered "everyman" overwhelmed by immediate circumstances.

Rene Zellwegger was a mildly cute Texas girl-next-door several years before this one. In this one, set in San Francisco, her Texas accent and tomboyish outrage is not appealing.But she is supposed to be a fed-up girlfriend, so I guess she does it well.

I envied the main character. How great would it be to look like him, have a guaranteed easy job for life at a pool table manufacturer in San Francisco, owned by his own family, and then inherit a bunch of money? I've met guys like that, who cruise along in "auto-pilot" with their looks, casual demeanor, and money.

The sidekick character played by Artie Lang was so over-the-top obnoxious! I couldn't take it. That's his real life personality, so he wasn't acting. It was also excruciating to see classic actors like Ed Asner and Hal Holbrook play old fools in a romantic comedy for young people. It seemed degrading.

I loved the imagery of single men being lassoed by a cowboy rope as symbolic of being trapped by the need to marry.

I also thought the famous thousand brides scene was well done. I particularly liked the initial part of it at the church, when Chris is answering their questions about his preferences.

Brooke Shields looks old and hard. Don't expect much, although she played her role well.

I thought there was just the right amount of character development. You don't want too much in a RomCom. If you can stand Artie Lang,give this picture a viewing on a rainy day.

Why, oh, why do they try and remake Buster Keaton's movies, he was such a master of his craft that it is near impossible to make anything near as good as his original movies. Saying that, even if I hadn't seen 'Seven Chances' before seeing this I'd still have the same opinion, Chris O'Donnell had the potential to be a star, but, he has the inability to know a good script and this is a classic example. None of the characters are particularly endearing, Arte Lange is plain annoying and seeing Ed Asner and Hal Holbrooke was saddening. Rene Zellwegger is as usual very good, which is about the only positive thing in this sorry excuse of a movie.

Major plothole, how come all the brides turn up at the church in full, perfectly fitting bridal regalia on only a few hours notice? Are we supposed to believe that all women have a perfect wedding outfit in their wardrobe 'just in case'? And amazingly, the wedding dress found for Anne fits like a dream, an amazing coincidence or what!! At least in Keaton's version the 'brides' are in their normal clothing with just cobbled together veils to distinguish them as brides, far more convincing.

My advice, hunt down a copy of the original 'Seven Chances', there is no comparison. Note to reviewer Matt Doolittle, BusterKeaton was an amazing man, but, even he couldn't direct a film 33 years after his death.