Good, but hardly great

Rating: 7/10 (4 December 2004)

I'm not saying that this movie isn't funny... quite the contrary. But so many claim that it's great, almost a masterpiece... why? It starts out very good, with Bill Murray being his typical, sarcastic, at times deadpan self, and continue being so for a good while... but somewhere, about halfway through the movie, the films pace suddenly slows ridiculously down and we're suddenly not watching a comedy with Murray's sharp wit and excellent delivery, but rather a typical early 90's romantic comedy. Why couldn't this film break that damn barrier? Why does there always have to be romance? I know, I know, us humans have quite an insatiable lust and longing for love, but can't we think of something more original and constructive to put in movies? The film gets better a little later, with Murray doing more fun stuff again... and the plot is now turned around. The first half of the film is Murray doing what he feels like, pleasing himself, the latter half if him serving other people, pleasing others. This works well, and there are some funny moments in both parts(though there are far more in the first). But the whole romance subplot... I don't know, maybe it's because it's Andie MacDowell, the queen(well, one of them... another good example would be Julia Roberts, but she's done more versatile roles) of annoying romantic comedies. Why, oh why must there always romance in movies like this? Hell, the movie could have gotten an 8 from me, or possibly even a perfect 10, if it had kept up the great entertainment of the first half. Some of the movie also seems to drag a bit, since we're basically just watching the same thing over and over again... but with tiny alterations every once in a while. The plot is good, but the romance subplot sucks. The pacing is OK. The acting is somewhat good... but the only actor that impressed me was Bill Murray... and even he was portraying the exact same character that he always does. The characters are well-written... to a extent. The humor is good. All in all, the movie is worth watching and good, but it's by no means great. I recommend it to fans of Bill Murray and *shudder* romantic comedies. 7/10