The answer: quite a bit. My friend and I arrived at the theater early, and figuring the other three members of the group would be late, we walked to a bar down the street. It was "girl's night out," a tradition that lends itself to watching indescribably horrible "chick flicks" usually featuring that diva of toothy smiles, Julia Roberts. Don't get me wrong, I like Julia Roberts. I like her liev interviews, her famous smile, her dark eyes that always somehow manage to look troubled, and her soap-opera love life (Lyle Lovett???). Unfortunately she usually acts in romantic comedies that hold no interest for me. The Runaway Bride? Please. Not even Pretty Woman really did anything for me (as I duck to avoid flying furniture from the Julia fans out there).

So there we were, Steph, Me, and a cute bartender who smiled when I said "Make 'em strong." Two Long Island Iced teas later, I felt sufficiently juiced up to go back to the theater and meet up with the girls. Of course, we had our tickets and the other three didn't, and the movie was sold out. At this point I started thinking that maybe the movie might be worth the $8.50 I was spending on the ticket. After all, throngs of people caused it to be sold out, right???

So we switched tickets to the late show, and went back to the bar. Three drinks (raspberry stoli with cranberry juice) and a bowl of crab dip later it was finally time to grab our seats. The anticipation had been building all night, and I found myself thinking, 'hey, this could be good! *hiccup*. I've had enough to drink that I might enjoy this!'

And for one of the first times in my life, I found that I wasn't wrong. (Woo-hoooo!!!) I was definitely drunk enough to enjoy the movie.

The Plot

The movie opens with a big shot Hollywood executive screening a multimillion dollar blockbuster. Unfortunately, the director wouldn't send him the whole movie, but only the titles, saying he wanted to premier it at the "press junket." So big shot movie man hires back the recently fired public relations/media handler Lee (Billy Crystal), who is the only person on the planet who can pull off a junket which might feature a horribly bad movie (or may not feature a movie at all).

The movie is the umpteenth incarnation of a romantic series featuring a "real life" couple. Eddie (John Cusack) and Gwen (Catherine Zeta-Gives-me-the-Jones) met on a movie set and became America's darlings, making dozens of "Eddie and Gwen" movies and subjecting themselves to relentless media scrutiny. America is enraged when Gwen falls for another co-star, the hispanic Hector (Hank Azaria), and the following films aren't as popular. In an attempt to boost ratings and detract from the fact that there is no film, Lee organizes a junket that will distract the press by fooling them into thinking that Gwen and Eddie get back together.

The series of events that follows borders on the hysterical sometimes. Of course, I was boozin', so perhaps it was just bordering on funny in reality. That might be a more accurate assessment, actually.

The Characters, Direction, etc

Billy Crystal gives a solid but not stellar performance in this role, playing the emotionless publicity-stunt maker with reckless abandon. Unfortunately it is the more human side of his character that comes up lacking, because he does genuinely care about these people even while ruthlessly manipulating them. It was not a sore point with me but it could have been handled a bit better. At one point, I was tempted to start singing in the theater, "Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match, find me a find, catch me a catch..." as Crystal became the "wise old maid" who subtly reinforced the blooming romance between Eddie and Gwen's sister/personal slave Kiki (Julia Roberts).

Catherine Zeta-Jones was clearly having a lot of fun with her role as the snobby and self-centered movie star. At times, her acting was overdone and contrived, without the natural feeling that I usually get from her work. Perhaps (I hope) this is because acting so foolishly self-centered is not really in her nature.

John Cusack was wonderful in this movie. Of course, I have had a crush on the man since The Journey of Natty Gann, so I might be biased. But he really infused his role as the tortured, depressed, lonely man with a lot of passion. In real life I despise men who can't get over their last girlfriend. The constant "what's wrong with me?" whining drives me batty, so given the circumstances I expected to dislike his character. But my Johnny didn't let me down. In some of the more touching moments of the film, as he comes to realize he is in love with Gwen's sister and not Gwen, he gets *that* look in his eye- the somewhat surprised, suddenly-I-have-self-awareness look, and he pulls it off very well.

Julia surprised me in this film. "Kiki" was not really a major role in this movie, and was supposed to be dowdy. Even when dressed in a fat-suit for the "flashbacks," Julia shines through a bit too much to make this very believable. BUT the more I thought about it, the more I thought Julia was necessary for the role as she gave some light to a character that might have otherwise been boring. She portrays emotions so well with her face that she hardly seems to be acting, and even though her lines require her to be subservient, she has that "Julia spark" that give us the idea that the wheels are turning in her head and that she just might explode.

Overall

I wish I hadn't been drinking when I saw this film, I fear my judgement might have been too clouded. But in any case I'll stick to my first impression here. The movie was good. Not amazing, not Earth-shattering, but it was fun and amusing. I got the idea that even though this was a "chick flick," it was told from a male viewpoint. The eccentricities and neuroses of women were mocked, not excessively, but just enough for us to have a moment of self-recognition and laugh about it. There are a few near-misses on jokes and a few "overkills" (If Hector said "whoo-nket" instead of "junket" one more time I thought I was going to hurl my popcorn at the screen), but overall it is evenly paced and leaves you smiling. Julia doesn't take over the film and gives a minor character a great ride without being overpowering (not what I expected and I'm pleased by it).

I also have to appreciate a chick flick that doesn't attempt to make me cry. When movies pull at emotional puppet-strings, I usually respond quickly (which makes me angry, to tell you the truth). This little satire was forgivingly unpretentious, and didn't even try to do that.

The only major problem I had with the film was the complete lack of chemistry between Cusack and Zeta-Jones. It was impossible to believe he was so completely in love with her that it ruined his life when she cheated. To her credit, Zeta-Jones did the best she could with this, acting very well in a few scenes where she had to decide whether or not to serve him with divorce papers. Unfortunately there just wasn't much direction in this department (credit here lies with the director more than the script, I think). Other than this issue, the movie was well-paced, funny, and surprisingly culturally relevant.

All in all, I would recommend this one for a matinee- not worth the $8.50 I paid, but a good hearted laugh and worth catching before it comes out on video.

Recommended:
Yes

Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older