A pleasant surprise!

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2005)

I just finished watching this movie. What a pleasant surprise! Either it was woefully under-advertised or I was living under a rock at the time, but this movie is well worth seeing. I sat down to watch it just because it had the great Anthony Hopkins in it. I did not even know until his appearance that Brad Pitt was even associated with this project. Normally I consider Pitt a "woman's actor" in that he acts primarily in films that appeal to women. But occasionally he has shown flashes of talent (such as SEVEN MONKEYS), and he does again in this film. The doe-eyed beauty of Claire Forlani is the perfect complement to him. While both rich and beautiful, she comes across as someone who looks for something deeper in a man than Pitt's obvious physical charms. I am surprised she has not been in other big-budget films, since this was made in 1998. With his under-appreciated charm, Jeffrey Tambor plays his usual character of the slightly dim-witted loser, and Anthony Hopkins is good as always. But this is a star vehicle for Pitt, and he is surprisingly up to the task. I had intended to watch and discard this movie, but now it is a keeper for my video library. Guys - this is a perfect date film. We should all keep a couple of "chick flicks" like this on hand, that appeal to women but are more thought-provoking than just their usual Titanic-level garbage.