Product: The Bachelor (1999)
Rating: 3.0
Fun date movie if marriage is on your mind
An amiable film with a solid cast, there's nothing for the Academy to see here. Happily, there's a lot for people on the verge of marriage, or just those young at heart. Though I think the same pre-wedding jitters are fretted out with better style in, say, FORCES OF NATURE, this funny adaptation of SEVEN CHANCES is still a great date flick-especially if you already are engaged or married.Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellweger turn in charming performances, but then again the acting in the film is solid throughout. Of special note in this regard is Brooke Shields, who proves that her days on SUDDENLY SUSAN were good for at least one thing: sharpening her comic timing. And, though woefully underutilized, Hal Holbrook and Ed Asner make a welcome return to the screen.To be sure, there is nothing here of great originality. You know from the title that our heroes will make it down the aisle. But the film is crafted well enough that one genuinely cares about the HOW of it. The writer has given the audience predictable plot twists, but ones placed with skill. Likewise, scenes are edited briskly enough that the comedy is fully realized. The effect of both is a movie which does affect the audience, even given its somewhat tired notions of gender roles.[DVD Notes: Though this review is written prior to the release of the DVD, it's disappointing to note that there are virtually no additional features.]