Product: The Bachelor (1999)
Rating: 4.0
Madcap and entertaining romantic comedy
I found this to be a madcap and highly entertaining romantic comedy. This is a remake of the 1925 Buster Keaton classic, `Seven Chances' and this story has been trotted out a number of times since in various forms so the material is far from fresh. Jimmie Shannon (Chris O'Donnell) is a confirmed bachelor who finds himself in love with Anne (Rene Zellweger). As his friends begin dropping like flies to the marriage bug, Jimmie realizes that his time too has come. So he proposes to Anne, but he botches it, making it so unromantic that despite desperately wanting to accept, she runs from the room. When his grandfather dies, he discovers that he is the sole heir to a vast fortune of $100 million, but to get it, he needs to get married by 6:05 PM on his birthday, which as it happens is the following day. With his one true love gone, he must marry someone, so he begins a litany of successive proposals to all his old girlfriends.The story is utterly predictable and overly zany. It is comedy in its simplest and most unsophisticated form. Slapstick, if done well can be very funny, and this was done well. There were numerous belly laughs in this film from the many sight gags and absurd situations that develop. The romance between Jimmie and Anne was also charming.The direction by Gary Sinyor was nothing special from a visual standpoint, but I felt he handled the setup of the sight gags well and did a good job of orchestrating the movement of the thousand or so brides in the chase scene (worthy of any Keystone Kops skit). The special effects on the Mustang scenes were pretty weak, though.Chris O'Donnell was very good in his role as Jimmie. His comedic timing was effective and he succeeded in looking totally hapless in his various scenes with erstwhile girlfriends. I thought his chemistry with Zellweger was excellent and sincere, especially at the end.Rene Zellweger was a good choice for this role. Though she is no goddess, she has a very natural, sweet and wholesome attractiveness; very real and vulnerable. She really made the romantic part of the story work single-handedly with her misty eyed looks and genuine longing for Jimmie.I rated this film an 8/10. I enjoy this kind of silly romantic farce, but it is not for everyone. It requires an ability to laugh at absurd, pratfall humor. If you are in the mood for a good light date movie, this might be a good choice. But, if you don't like slapstick, you will probably want to steer clear.