priceless, a true gem

Rating: 9/10 (11 August 2006)

hilarious; i laughed so much more at this flick than Talladega Nights, and i love Will Ferrell. i usually reserve this type of movie for rentals, as there are no visuals that must be seen on a big screen. but i'm very glad i went to see it. Kinnear, Collette, Carrell, Arkin and the kids are all awesome. the movie has a lot of heart, and it's all about the cast and the directing. the only distraction for me was the substitution of Santa Barbara for what was supposed to be Redondo Beach, but if you haven't lived in Cali all your life, who cares.
the plot builds to an ending that is very endearing; it makes you love all the characters even more. i was cheering and clapping and laughing like a little girl. with that much emotion and tension going on between multiple characters, it could easily gone astray at so many different times. but it stays on course and weaves deftly around all the pitfalls that befuddle most production teams. kudos to the directors and the writer.