Une fiancée pour deux

This was a sweetheart of a movie. From a technical point of view, the photography was just right for the moments. If anyone has ever dismissed David Schwimmer as a pouty, whiny lout (such the characters from "FRIENDS" and "The Pallbearer"), take a good look at his Max in this and you'll see the complete opposite. Max is a vulgar, arrogant, misogynistic , bitter ass. His fellow player, Jason Lee, plays a pouty, whiny lout (as opposed to the vulgar, arrogant, misogynistic, bitter roles he was made famous by, in Brodie Bruce and Banky Edwards) who, as probably already told to you here on IMDb, is lorn of his slutty model girlfriend. Max has fallen for Sam, his attractive young publisher who he feels is too good to be true. So, he asks his best friend Jay (Lee) to see if Sam will hit on him, thus figuring out if she is the one. This test of course, is a thin veiled attempt to breach the contract called commitment, which blah blah blah, the story ends rather nicely. Not really what you expect. The flaw of this film is the forced conflicts presented, the rushed and implausible sequences that appear all too soon, and the unnecessary characters.

BUT I URGE YOU ALL READING THIS: GO RENT KISSING A FOOL! It, despite a few cons, is the kind of romantic comedy you hope for when you stand in line for "You've Got Mail" and get crap. Quirky, metropolitan, pampered, and concise, this flick will hit the spot, man.

With those stunning camera shots of Chicago and that snappy Harry Connick, Jr. song in the title sequence, "Kissing A Fool" gets off to a great start. And I liked Bonnie Hunt as the story's narrator. But the film suffers from a plot that is too predictable and from characters whose behavior is not believable.

This is one of those movies that you can see the end coming a mile away. There are virtually no plot twists to deflect the story's straight-line trajectory. As such, the story is almost too simple and unimaginative to be worth telling. To varying degrees, most romantic comedies are fairly shallow. But "Kissing A Fool" has no subtlety at all, not in plot, not in characters, not in dialogue.

Lacking any complexity, the story relies on two main characters, Jay (Jason Lee) and Max (David Schwimmer) whose behavior toward each other is not believable. They're supposed to be best buddies. But they are constantly at each other's throats. Their constant arguing not only is annoying; it calls into question their friendship. How can they be best buddies?

The two are not at all alike. Jay is bookish and cerebral; Max is your typical arrogant, cocky self-centered sports freak jerk. All that animosity between these two guys does not lend credibility to their "friendship"; yet, it is the main contrivance that propels the film's plot. Further, it renders a story conclusion that is, by extension, also not believable.

The film's acting is a tad exaggerated. I like Jason Lee, but he tends to overact in this film. Mili Avital, as the girl in between, is okay, but she doesn't have much to do. And David Schwimmer's performance is something of a hyper-masculine strut-fest. Some subtlety in acting would have helped a lot.

For all that, "Kissing A Fool" is still worth watching, once. It has credible production values, and there are occasional lines of dialogue that are funny. And I think the film's underlying concept is fine. I just wish the script and the acting could have been a little more nuanced and subtle.

The story opens with a bride and groom kissing at their marriage service but you only get to see the face of the bride. This is a clue for us. We are going to have to figure out as we watch the film which guy is going to end up being the groom. The picture on the front of the video box has already showed us a bride being kissed from one side by Schwimmer and simultaneously from the other by Lee so we know the race for romance is going to be between the two of them. (This release, with Dutch subtitles, has a different picture to the US video/ IMDb picture.)

Yet in the first five minutes Linda the publisher tells us, not once, but twice that she introduced the bride and groom. We cut to a flashback of her introducing the two of them to each other, just in case we still don't get it. Then within another five minutes Jay the writer (Lee) is introducing Sam, his editor (Avital) to Max the sports caster and general foul-mouthed ignoramus (Schwimmer). IF the publisher is telling us the truth, doesn't this just kinda rule Max out of the contest for the first person to kiss the bride? Or have I missed something here?

This film is about as predictable as trying to guess which kind of white meat will feature most often on Thanksgiving dinner tables this year. I'll tell you; it will be turkey. And this movie sure is one.

But it is not just the plot and direction that are hugely lacking. Schwimmer is totally unbelievable and badly miscast as Max. His mouth moves, the words come out, but they lack any conviction whatsoever. The character of Jay the writer is such a whiney loser (with possibly the worst hairstyle in recent movie history) that I began to dread every screen appearance he made. He seemed to communicate in a series of whinging questions: "What are you doing here?" "So what??" "And??" I have absolutely no idea why the two of them were friends; they had nothing in common and were always bitching at each other. The script was very weak in places: Jay's explanation of why he had introduced Max to Sam provoked for me the biggest guffaw of the film (one of the very few). Best part of the film? The Harry Connick Jr. song over the opening credits.

Overall, it gets a 3; a waste of my time and money - it was I who was the FOOL for not reading Roger Ebert's review BEFORE going to the video shop. If you are looking for a nice romantic comedy get While You Were Sleeping, The Philadelphia Story, As Good As It Gets or anything else on the IMDb list of top 50 Romance films.

If not for these four things, this movie would be unbearable. Jason Lee is the best, and cutest, skateboarder turned actor on this or any other planet. He brings a sweet vulnerability to every character I have seen him play. Kudos to you, sir! When I rule the world, Bonnie Hunt will be in every movie that is made. The woman is a comic genius, 'nuff said. As for the Kings, modern swing does not get any better. Plus, Ross is a hotty. And then there is the Mill. Quite possibly the coolest bar ever. Al Capone used to own it, what more can I say? If you're in Chicago, you must check it out. This is a great video to watch, cuz you can fast forward through the numerous boring parts!

Because the only redeemable quality in this film is Jason Lee. His brand of comedy is one of those who you either love or hate. David Schwimmer is the worst I have ever seen him in this movie. Go see All the rage if you want to see him as a good actor. Even his work on Friends is better. This movie is only to be watched if your girlfriend makes you.