Un vent de folie

"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.

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

I cannot imagine anything that would be more fun than taking a road-trip with Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock). That is why I really think this film is worth watching. Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) got something that very few of us ever get to experience - a couple of days with someone who will truly liberate us from our staid conventions and open our eyes to a world that we never knew even existed.

Working with the developmentally disabled, I have to constantly remember that I cannot say they don't want to live or work or do something until I have exposed them to that opportunity and let them make an informed choice.

How many times have we made choices without knowing all the opens - or even that there are options. Ben got the opportunity to make an informed choice. I am not saying I would have made his choice, but he knew what he was doing.

Don't watch this movie looking for a comedy, even though it is funny; don't watch it looking for romance, even though there is plenty to see; but watch it to open your eyes to another world and ask yourself if your world is really what you want.

Two days before his wedding, Ben's grandfather has a heart attack while dancing with a stripper. Due to the delay Ben's fiancé, Bridget, flies ahead to Savannah to make the preparations. Ben catches a plane later the day and meets free-spirit Sarah. When the plane is in a minor crash the two join up to head to Savannah by any way other than road, leading to one `comic' delay after another. Meanwhile the two become a little closer and Ben begins to doubt that marriage is for him.

I first saw this in the cinema with my girlfriend (at the time) in a fit of trying to be seen to be giving and willing to watch silly films that she wants to see. At the time I was particularly untaken by the whole film despite the odd amusing touch. A few years on she bought it on video – she likes the silly films she can watch with her friends – and I gave it another go. The film is sadly as poorly pitched as I remember it, it isn't light enough to be funny and it isn't well enough written to be an involving drama. However, by trying to do both it fails to do either well.

The light part is clearly indebted to `Planes, Trains & Automobiles' in it's make-up, with cross country japes and one mishap after another. However to even compare the laughs in that film with the low number in this is, well, laughable. The film tries to have some `hilarious' set pieces but none of them are more than amusing. Even the support characters who wander in and out only ever manage a few good lines. What makes this harder is the serious side to the film where Sarah has a child and an abusive husband and Ben gets nothing but advice not to marry. This element is present all the way through and makes the film much more of a drama than a comedy, but, because it wants to be funny as well, the drama doesn't really work very well.

Affleck is a non-character here and doesn't have the charisma to really involve the audience. Bullock is normally good but this is outside of her normal character and she doesn't wear the difficult edges well. The two have a reasonable chemistry that helps them through the rough patches but they don't fizz or spark together. The support cast throws up a few interesting faces who give good performances including Ronny Cox, Zahn, Tierney and a few others.

The film has been applauded for the realistic (low-key) ending which is certainly better on paper than the usual formulaic ending and on this I pretty much agree. It doesn't spoil the film simply because the 30 minutes before this are so very serious and not funny. On top of this the film also has some nice directorial touches in slow-mo rain and hail storms. However the impact of the emotional climax in a swirling wind of flower petals is rather spoilt by the really poor back projection used to carry it off.

Overall though this film is a bit of a letdown as it manages to only half work as a comedy and as a drama although it does have some nice touches that make it worth seeing as long as you know what to expect.

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.