L'amour sans préavis

Sandra Bullock is one of my favourite actress's, I'll give any movie with her in a chance, and Hugh Grant is funny if given good material. So despite looking every inch the predictable romantic comedy, I expected to like this.

Plot In A Paragraph: Idealistic lawyer Lucy Kelton (Sandra Bullock) quits her job working for demanding corporate boss George Wade (Hugh Grant) But Soon realises she can't let go quite so easily.

Bullock and Grant have great chemistry (Their relationship reminded me of Arthur and Hobson from "Arthur" if Hobson had been a woman) and the first half of this movie is very enjoyable but midway through it sort of loses its way, as it heads towards its predictable climax.

Hugh Grant is in top form here, Bullocks's "Miss Cingenialty" co star Heather Burns has a role here, as is Grant's "Four Weddings & A Funeral" co-star David Haig, and Alicia Witt is fine too. As for Bullock

I'll admit from the off, that I am bias. I love her. With her gorgeous girl next door looks, I adore her, and will usually give anything she is in a chance. she remains one of the most talented and beautiful women in movies, and her ladylike sexiness is in rare supply. Any movie becomes promising just by having her name in it's cast.

TWO WEEKS NOTICE (2002) *** Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Robert Klein, Dorian Missick, Heather Burns, Jason Antoon. Charming screwball romantic comedy with Bullock as an A-type/neo-hippie cum grass-roots lawyer who finds herself employed by wealthy conglomerate merger type businessman Grant and after attempting to get him to change his ways gives her titular ultimatum only to discover – you got it – they are really meant for one another. The film may be formulaic but its stars have that special, instant and utterly natural chemistry together helped with a crackling zingerfest screenplay by its director Marc Lawrence who manages to make the creaky device work even if its last act is by rote and Witt as Bullock's replacement (in more ways than one) is a pallid shadow of `All About Eve' .

I saw 'Two Weeks Notice' some years ago and didn't like it much. It seemed like a passable romantic comedy. I mean, the acting was overall good, the story a little old... it just felt like it lacked something. However, after having revisited it today, I actually liked it a lot more than before. Once one is passed the first half hour or so, I think he/she can really enjoy the film.

What makes the first half hour or so annoying is it's dragging pace and Hugh Grant. His character just comes across as extremely needy and perhaps it's not Grant's fault but the actor doesn't add anything new to his role. This is the kind of role that made him a star but he seems to have forgotten that there are other genres outside romantic comedy. Perhaps he wants to stick to a safer formula but I wonder how long people will continue watching him in the same kind of films playing similar roles. Anyway, after this initial half hour, he does decent in the acting department as he shows George's growth. We see his He shares a good chemistry with Sandra Bullock.

'Two Weeks Notice' belongs to Sandra Bullock and I think it is her acting and her character that make this film more likable. The woman is naturally beautiful and her comic timing is impeccable and it is no surprise that she's known as one of the finest comedy actresses (and she's great in other roles too). she has some of the best lines and she delivers them with complete ease.

I also loved the dialogues. There are some hilarious one-liners such as the barking chilli dog and the bobcat pretzel. After the dragging initial reel, the story moves at a good enough pace and gets funnier. Lawrence's screenplay and direction are good as the end result looks polished but some editing could have helped to tighten it up.

Overall, I think this funny film deserves a second chance as I liked it a lot more during the second viewing. I'm glad that I chose to watch it again.

Lucy Kelson {Sandra Bullock} lands a job as chief counsel for a big hitting New York real estate firm that is owned by mega-rich George Wade {Hugh Grant}. He's an engaging enough boss but he's very shallow, and Lucy finds that she's practically running his life for him. So finally tiring of being treated like a Personal Assistant, she gives her two weeks notice of resignation. But can the pair do with out each other? And is there more than a working relationship bubbling under the surface? For his first feature film directing assignment, Marc Lawrence played it safe and got lucky with his lead actors. Whilst hardly setting a new benchmark in the ROM-COM genre, Two Weeks Notice is however witty and not without charm. This is due in the main to the pairing of Grant & Bullock, who play it perky and spark a chemistry so sadly lacking in many other modern day films of its ilk. By their own admission the pair got on great off screen, and that is evident as the pair feed of each other to make the lightweight script work wonders. The dominance of the pair tho leaves little room for the supporting actors to breathe, with many of them coming across as mere fillers. It's this that stops the film from being the great film that Bullock, and particularly Grant's, efforts deserved.

Enjoyable light entertainment that could have been better if more thought had gone into the outer characters. 6.5/10

"Two Weeks Notice" tells of the romantic misadventures of a playboy tycoon (Grant) and a "greenie" attorney (Bullock) who can't seem to get along until they finally realize what they can't get along without is each other. On the downside, the film is the usual romcom fare with nothing in particular to distinguish it from a panoply of peers. On the up side, the flick is chock full of Lawrence's humor which made "Miss Congeniality" and "Forces of Nature" so enjoyable. Entertaining stuff worth a look for Bullock or Grant fans and romcom junkies. (B-)