sweet, funny, excellent performances

Rating: 9/10 (24 April 2001)

It's a standard Hollywood movie, but a clever script, Zellweger's performance, and an excellent supporting cast lifts this predictable story to a level well above most of the romantic comedies. Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as the devilish "bad boy", and Colin Firth is the only choice for the rather thankless role of reprising Mr. Darcy of "Pride and Prejudice" (he is a very good actor but in most American movies he plays a pompous and humorless jerk; at least here he is a generally sympathetic character). But as good as all of these actors are, it's Zellweger that carries the movie. Her performance is perfectly nuanced -- she's funny, adorable, and goofy, and manages to convey just enough pain during her character's misadventures to be touching, while still letting you laugh.
It's an ideal date movie, and she's still as cute as a button with the extra weight she put on for the role.