Superb souffle

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 1999)

Well, there seems to be a consensus it's a Romantic Comedy. Look folks, it's designed as a souffle. It's made from simple ingredients, it requires care and precision in manufacture and if properly made gives pleasure and goes down easily. This one is and does. The script sparkles, the actors act like they are enjoying it, and I laughed out loud a good deal. I didn't look at my watch, which is pretty well the ultimate test for any movie, and this one is two hours long. I even came out of the theatre feeling vaguely good about life. Cheaper than a bottle of wine and no hangover. Yes, I know Julia Roberts has a mouth like a postbox but she has a winsome look and beautiful dark brown eyes filled with melancholy and longing. (Probably for another 15 million dollar role.) Hugh Grant makes you believe he deserves some emotional happiness though his chances of achieving it with a Hollywood megastar are pretty remote. Spike probably gave the other Spike (Milligan - or maybe the Welsh nation) grounds for a defamation action but at worst was a minor irritant. As for the failure friends, so what? They're nice people and they help out. I enjoyed Alex Baldwin's cameo as the boorish boyfriend. He got us to hate him in about 30 seconds. Now that's acting.