Film festivals offer a golden opportunity to experience the new and unusual in the world of film. They screen films from all around the globe, in a multitude of genres, allowing a peek into the minds and lives of those with whom we ordinarily have no interaction whatsoever. Alternately, they allow enterprising filmgoers a sneak peek at soon-to-be-released films aimed at the general movie-going public. These, while sometimes not as interesting as the more esoteric offerings, nonetheless provide decent, and usually predictable entertainment. Such was the case tonight at the Philadelphia Film Festival’s screening of Laws of Attraction. This harmless romantic comedy will be hitting screens in the U.S. sometime fairly soon, and, while it won’t garner any Academy Awards, will probably make a decent amount at the box office with the weekend-date crowd.
Characters & Plot
Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) is one of the premiere divorce attorneys in New York City. Smart, sexy, and successful, she seems to have it all, including a healthy dose of cynicism concerning the institution of marriage. Her neatly-packaged world is shaken up, however, when Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) appears opposite her in the courtroom. Charming and unorthodox, Rafferty has never lost a big divorce case, and doesn’t plan on starting now. One heated courtroom scene, one surveillance camera, one night at a Cuban restaurant, and one morning after later, the two lawyers have set the stage for a very newsworthy rivalry. Several cases later, they find themselves head-to-head once again, this time over the divorce of a famous fashion designer (Parker Posey) and her equally famous rock star husband (Michael Sheen). The high-profile couple is willing to settle, but both insist on retaining ownership of their castle in Ireland. Thus, Woods and Rafferty simply must visit the castle in order to take statements from the staff, and no trip to Ireland would be complete without a little romance to enliven the proceedings. Sparks fly, pints are quaffed, and the two return to New York in a very different manner than that in which they left. Can they find time for love between their appearances in court? Perhaps their journey to the Emerald Isle will begin to teach them something of the Laws of Attraction.
Analysis
So this is a romantic comedy. We’ve all seen romantic comedies before, and, quite frankly, we all know what to expect from them. This film has a good bit going for it at the outset, to be sure (Irish colloquialism unintended but fortuitous). Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore serve admirably as eye candy for both sexes, and are both very experienced actors. Their performances are solid, and quite entertaining, and the lightly comic material appears to be well within their range. The supporting actors and actresses are, for the most part, convincing (although the Irish characters fill some rather clichéd roles). Frances Fisher in particular does an enjoyable turn as Audrey’s high-society mother (Memorable line: “Davide’s going to take fat out of our butts and inject it into our lips.” Response: “Gives a whole new meaning to talking out of your ass, doesn’t it?).
The main downfall of the movie comes as an inevitable side effect of the genre. Romantic comedies have a few components that must appear in them, and these lend an air of utter predictability to Laws. First, there is the initial attraction between the two leads (cue alcohol-soaked night out and first sex scene). Then there is the ensuing rivalry and argumentation. Next, we throw in a trip to an unfamiliar place (cue car rental difficulties; cue long walk down country road; cue one lead driving by in car and picking up other lead, with humorous dialogue thrown in for entertaining effect). Skipping a couple of plot items, we come to the close-to-the-conclusion argument (cue montage of he and she alone in respective apartments; cue soft-rock guitar and plaintive melody; cue softly sung words about “how I was wrong”). Finally, we have the making-up romantic scene (cue kissing, hugging, possible marriage, and jokes referencing dialogue points from earlier in the film). If we haven’t seen the specific plot of Laws before, we’ve certainly seen enough romantic comedies to pick out the main elements that go into this type of film. This isn’t necessarily crippling to the film (we all like predictability in our entertainment, right?), but it does take away from the comedy a bit. Comedy works best when it surprises you, so when you’re not surprised, the humor value is lost a little.
Final Thoughts
As I said before, Laws of Attraction won’t be winning any awards. Nor will it be making hundreds of millions at the box office. What it will do, most likely, is appeal to the average movie-going couple as a nice, light way to spend an evening together. Just because it’s predictable doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining. Do I recommend seeing it? Why not, if you’re in the mood for this kind of thing? The leads are nice to look at, the scenery in Ireland is pretty, and it’ll prompt a few laugh-out-loud moments. You’ll probably leave the theater smiling, and that’s about all you can ask of a film like this.
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