Pretty Underrated

I remember being surprised when I liked this movie the first time I saw it. I hate Ben Affleck, and I don't care for snappy, contrived banter between characters (much less as flirting between two stars). It's also kind of a pet peeve when directors use their movies as a vehicle for playing their favorite ambient/pop music.

That having been said, this was a good movie. I think part of the reason it goes under the radar, or leaves people confused (which moviegoers do NOT like), is the fact that it's not a clear-cut anthem movie, it's not really a romantic-comedy, and it's not a straight drama. It's a mash-up of genres, featuring two actors who are sporadic in their emotional performances; but that's sort of the point. We're supposed to think Ben Affleck is a square in the movie, and that his witticisms are pathetic. We're also supposed to think that for all of Sandra Bullock's rock 'n' roll, no-guff-taking act, she's immature, vulnerable, and not a great mother.

I loved that this movie dared to throw REALISTIC interpretations of characters at us. The long moments of Ben Affleck staring at Sandra Bullock, hypnotized. The moody cinematography. It captures the perfect absurdity that can make a man fall in love with someone he hardly even knows, and for some of the most tempting yet ultimately wrong reasons. Someone who throws his routine off balance, and inspires the desire to just run away from every responsibility he has.

I imagine the ending bothered some people. Well, wake up. That's what happens. Moviegoers are far too used to their Hollywood heroes and heroines being offered A or B, and finding SOME WAY to nab both A AND B. The fact that Ben's adventure and his newfound perspective melts away the moment he sees Maura Tierney in the wedding dress is perfect. She is not a bad person, she's not a neurotic fiancé, and she is going through some of the same anxieties that he is. They could have so easily made her out to be a romantic comedy cliché, but they didn't. She's beautiful, and supportive, and funny. If the ending came, and Ben threw a drink in her face, and left with Sandra Bullock to sell her bagel shop, would ANYONE really have liked that ending? Would it have made any sense? She's Maura Tierney for Christ's sake. Loved that he made the choice to man up, embrace his fears, and marry her.

Ten years later, this is showing on TBS, and it holds up. The main difference for me was that now when I watch it, I don't hate Ben Affleck and Maura Tierney and Sandra Bullock just because they kissed someone other than their spouses. I suspect other people don't care for it because of some mildly clichéd characters, some admittedly tired banter, and the fact that the two stars don't end up together. I think the movie uses those to its advantage, created them for the purpose of dissecting them, and viewers need to come into it without expectations... and grow up.