The best romantic comedies have that... certain sparkle. Whether it’s perfect casting, witty dialogue or a sweetly surprising plot, we’re taken in and swept away.
Unfortunately, "Laws of Attraction"-- the new film starring Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan as rival New York City divorce lawyers who end up falling for each other-- isn’t a diamond in the rough.
In fact, it ranks more as a lackluster piece of cubic zirconium, bland and unoriginal up close, though certainly pretty from far away. (Hey, we’re talking about James Bond as a romantic lead here!)
The story-- a little twist on Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy’s "Adam’s Rib"-- pits neat, simple and straight-laced Audrey Woods (Moore) against Daniel Rafferty (Brosnan), a sloppy attorney who’s just moved to town... and has never lost a case. (Cue the narrowing eyes and sharpening claws.)
Yet, even after relating Daniel to an "unmade bed," a drunken Audrey decides to lie in one with him.
The surprise marriage ceremony the previews so heavily promoted comes much later, after a visit to Ireland to sort out details in a particularly nasty divorce between a rocker (Michael Sheen) and an up-and-coming clothes designer (Parker Posey, trying to emulate a white trash Joan Jett).
But aside from a few funny scenes-- mainly involving Snowballs (the sugary kind), an Irish shindig and a little breaking and entering-- the script just falls flat.
Character development, for example, is completely one sided. We learn why Audrey "doesn’t date" and feels insecure about herself, but what about Daniel? Why is a good-looking man who bakes brownies for the sugar-addicted Audrey still single?
Also, director Peter Howitt ("Sliding Doors") never manages to muster up the right amount of chemistry between Brosnan and Moore-- at least none worthy of the silver screen. It’s more like watching two stubborn, argumentative friends finally admit they’re attracted to one another. Sure, you can tell the sex will be great, but in the end, there’s nothing to write home about.
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