Silver Screen in a Red Envelope: A Diary of Time Wasted

It impressed me. Okay, when the car rolled and not a single flame spouted anywhere I thought I was in love. I'm NOT a Jennifer Aniston fan, but when she came out in that ultra-thin look, with the heels (well, except the wedges. I hate wedges) and the self-conscious business-woman/hardass thing going, I totally believed it. I watched her and I thought, "I know someone like that." I don't say that in romantic comedies very often. Ever, really. Movie writers seem to think that hardass business women have that soft underbelly. They even tried to say so in some dialogue in Bounty Hunter, but the audience isn't fooled for a second. She's a hardass, he's a hardass, and that's what works. Under all that emotional constipation, they seem to portray two people who just do what they do. Unusually realistic. I saw the seedier, the more realistic side of New Jersey, and I felt something solid under everything, but there were still layers of fatty romance tissue,...

I did not enjoy this movie. It exuded "inane." I found nothing picturesque, interesting, or original in it. The acting was just fine, but the script didn't call for any real stretches or emotion, so the performance wasn't anything to be proud of. The characters felt ridiculous and unlovable without purpose. The masculine lead role came across as tooth-ache sweet, and the feminine lead, despite her own conclusions that she's a "good girl" did and said nothing to provide any evidence. The only reason we believe her is that she has a mother. That movie gimmick doesn't fly. Hitler had a mother too. The feminine lead displayed sub-standard morals in her sexuality and lack of honesty. She also acted irritable and unattractive. I felt appalled when she bullied her way into the masculine lead's life at the end. Instead of feeling a meeting of equals, a satisfying union, I felt sorry for him, and afraid for his future.