[Much] better (better writing, acting and directing) than last year's festival opener, the romantic comedy The Broken Hearts Club.
Dan Bucatinsky was O.K. but he tended to overact with much rolling of his eyes. He is a better writer than actor. Richard Ruccolo was quite good. I especially appreciate that as a straight man, he did not shy away from the hot man on man action. Unlike Dean Cain and Andrew Keegan in Broken Hearts, Ruccolo made it seem real. A good actor and excellent eye candy to boot.
Adam Goldberg was the best of the four leads and Shasha Alexander was quite good.
Several walk-on parts of note. Lisa Kudrow was the best and funniest. However she has convincingly done a role of the talentless actress before in Clock Watchers.
Chistina Ricci was just sorta there doing a schtick she has done before.
Andrea Martin was great as a crazed Jewish mother. Again, a role that is not really a stretch for her.
Doris Roberts was also quite good. However, we have all seen the nice little old lady who spouts profanities to great comic effect.
She was also central to the major flaw of the film. It was not enough that it be a light entertainment. It also had to get heavy with a message. Sieze the Day, Life is for the Living, to be loved you have to first love yourself....etc.
So Doris Roberts sharply goes from light comedy to heavy message without missing a beat. And we have more than enough alcoholic parents and the sister (unseen) locked away somewhere with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) and an alcoholic who suddenly becomes violent.
At a running time of 92 minutes it would seem that this movie could have been a lot tighter and more controlled. More romance and comedy and less of the heavy life lessons would have been very nice.
