sam ( matthew broderick ) is an astronomer in a small american town and engaged to teacher linda ( kelly preston ) .
he is head over heels in love and lindas sudden departure to new york city to live with her new lover anton ( tch ? ky karyo ) comes as a complete surprise to him .
but as we all know love is blind and so sam leaves for new york as well to win her back .
he moves into an abandoned house across the street from anton 's apartment and installs a camera obscura to watch them .
suddenly anton 's ex maggie shows up , but she does not want her former lover back .
on the contrary , all she wants to do is vaporize him .
she may say that she does n't want to kill him , but the possibility does n't bother her too much either .
after all , people die every day .
in spite of their different motives the two team up and fall for each other as things move on .
the story sounds like something we all have seen a million times .
but we have n't .
griffin dunne brings us the most charming comedy
since " while you where sleeping " .
the camera obscura adds a " special something " to the movie and makes it an exceptional romantic comedy .
everything about the movie is perfect , from set design to casting .
the dialogues are inspired and the touches of black humor add a certain bite .
meg ryan , known from " when harry met sally " or " sleepless in seattle " , surprises in a role that may finally help her get rid of her sweet little girl image .
she impresses the viewer as a maneating biker girl .
even more surprising is the fact that the viewer believes her , much more so than in last years " courage under fire " where she played a gulf war pilot .
matthew broderick is the goodnatured and somewhat naive sam who has trouble accepting reality .
the viewer can tell that he does n't only watch the stars but also tries to reach out for them .
he has trouble keeping in touch with reality .
after all , who would leave everything behind to chase a lost love ?
his naivet ? that we do n't question for a minute throughout the movie clashes with maggies exaggerated wish for revenge .
she would do anything to harm anton .
she does n't hesitate to use sam for her plan and makes him understand right from the beginning that nothing will happen between the two of them .
that makes the scenes when they innocently share a bed , have potatoe chips and watch the action across the street like a saturday night show on tv even funnier .
tch ?
ky karyo is perfect as anton .
he is , well , repulsive .
that 's all there is to say about him .
you ca n't really manage to pity him , even after all his mishaps .
he not only took sam 's bride away from him , he is also a french chef .
worlds collide , i .
e .
the usa and france .
this can only go wrong .
even if maggies revenge schemes are at times shocking , you just ca n't sympathize with a man who plays " je t'aime . . .
moi non plus " on his tape deck .
not everyone is captured by the french charme that linda and even maggie fell for .
sam certainly is n't . too bad for anton .
for him things take a turn to the worse .
" addicted to love " is one of this year 's most pleasant surprises .
exceptional perfect everything about the movie is perfect most pleasant surprises inspired she impresses the viewer the most charming comedy