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Review by Susan Granger
2½ stars out of 4
Sandra Bullock shines in this frenetic road comedy/love story
about the shared adventures of two unlikely people thrown together on
a cross-country trip. She plays a goofy, mischievous, free-spirited
lady who finds herself seated on a plane next to Ben Affleck, a stolid
New York-based copy-writer. She's going from New York to Savannah,
Georgia, to sell a bagel shop and visit her 10 year-old son, while
he's nervously en route to his wedding there. But, on take-off, the
plane's engine inhales a seagull and they never get off the
ground. So, they have to find other means of transportation to their
shared destination. Think "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" but add
buses and on foot. Patterned on the old Preston Sturges screwball
comedies, the premise works because the characters are genuine and
their emotional problems are identifiable. You empathize with their
dilemma and growing attraction to one another, even though the two
stars definitely lack chemistry together. Director Bronwen Hughes
("Harriet the Spy") captures the quirky charm of Marc Lawrence's
script, often using MTV-inspired visuals. It's too bad that beautiful
Maura Tierney, playing Affleck's fiance, keeps losing her Southern
accent, and that the ending takes a detour that may cause some
disapproval. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Forces of
Nature" is an amusing, romantic 6. Unfortunately, however, many of the
best moments are in the coming-attractions trailer.
Copyright © 2000 Susan Granger
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out of 4
