Directed by:
Don RoosScreenplay:
Don RoosCinematography:
Robert ElswitCast:
Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, Tony Goldwyn, Caroline Aaron, David Dorfman, Alex D. Linz, Joe Morton, Sam Robards (more)Plots(1)
Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck), a cocky, self-absorbed ad executive who--in desiring a tryst with the gorgeous Mimi (Natasha Henstridge), a woman he meets at the airport--gives up his plane ticket back to Los Angeles to writer Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn). The plane crashes, and Buddy begins a downward spiral of alcoholism and self-loathing until he undergoes rehab. Once out, he decides to pay a visit to the dead man's widow. Abby Janello (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a struggling real estate agent with two young sons. She slowly befriends Buddy and falls in love with him while Buddy struggles with the guilty secret of his connection to her husband's untimely death which could destroy their relationship. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (2)
This started off as a three-star flight but, instead of smoothly gaining altitude, it gradually lost it, eventually just copying the terrain. Despite my concerns, the flight captain/director managed to bring it to the nearest airport, landing at least decently. However, it wasn't a pleasant experience for passengers, and the use of airsickness bags was certainly excessive. The movie had two fundamental flaws: the predictable and thus boring screenplay, and the casting of the main role. I've got an issue with Ben Affleck; I think he's a terrible actor (his best performance was as a corpse in Smokin' Aces (2006)), and his testimony in court painfully reminded me of that. Watching his attempt to portray a suffering human being, I turned into just that — a suffering human being — and it had nothing to do with Mr. Affleck's convincing acting. The screenwriter/director tried to play on the audience's emotions here, which fell flat in my case. On the one hand, he did it poorly, and on top of that, he fueled the heartless bastard in me that his superficial incompetence couldn't sway. I seriously wondered why I keep revisiting films that I once marked with a low rating and realized it's my own form of adrenaline rush. Some people set out to conquer mountains, whereas I (lacking the ability for similarly physically demanding activities) consciously risk my mental well-being. Yes, with all due modesty, I must admit that I am a hero. / Lesson learned: No matter how excellent a horror movie may be, it will not prepare you for a meeting with Ben Affleck, attempting to project some emotions onto his face. ()
The Americans took their time with the premise. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. And the then still awkward Ben Affleck truly didn’t offend me. The romance in the movie, however, is not that great. In this case, it’s actually completely missing. ()
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