it wasnt THAT bad....

I had never heard of this movie and just caught it on Encore. I was genuinely surprised at how much I liked it. I had a smile on my face nearly all the way through, and had some genuine laughs as well.

Visually, I also found it extremely appealing – the colors, uniforms, set designs, how scenes were framed and shot. It’s something I’m not normally conscious of, but aside from smiling I remember thinking “that was a really good looking movie” – not referring exclusively to the actors, either.

The dialogue was delightful, and complemented how the movie looked - an example was a scene between Donna and her gay colleague Randy as they share a shift on Royal's Express service. Great romantic chemistry between Donna and Ted. Myers can wear on me at times in other roles, but I found his performance here extremely funny and engaging: the funny, smart and dedicated individual who is training others to do what he can only dream of doing due to limitations beyond his control.

Bergen was the perfect choice for what amounted to Donna's muse - Sally Weston. Such a relationship in real life seems implausible but it fit this movie's themes perfectly. I laughed out loud during the dinner party at Weston's house, where she talks about how she met her husband -- particularly the husband's semi-uncomfortable, underwhelming responses to his wife and guests. Seeing all the photos/paintings of Weston (sans husband or anyone else) all over her home at first made me think she was just a narcissist who got lucky, and whose advice/influence would turn out to be counterproductive for Donna. Yet in the end she surprised me - she was a very likeable character.

For me it was a bit of tasty, light-hearted fare that went down easy with some welcome reminders of universal messages that we can all use:

What you want isn’t always what you’ve cracked it up to be, material success can be hollow and lonely without love, people can truly surprise you (both happily and unhappily), friends can be enemies and vice-versa, thwarted dreams don't have to mean the end of the road, and we all have the potential to find a niche and path that fulfills us.

Not original material, but very nicely done regardless. I think it deserves at least a 7.