in recent years , harrison ford has been such a grave screen presence , scowling through the likes of tom clancy 's jack ryan series , _ the_fugitive _ , and last year 's smash _ air_force_one _ , that one wonders if the rogue charm that made him such a superstar had been completely drained from his system .
apparently , it was just lying dormant .
with ivan reitman 's enjoyable romantic comedy / adventure
_ six_days ,
_ seven_nights _ ,
the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons .
ford plays quinn harris , a carefree and slightly slobby ( endearingly so ) pilot in the tropics
whose broken - down plane crashes in a storm , stranding him and his charter , new york magazine editor robin monroe ( anne heche ) , on a deserted island .
of course , the sophisticated robin and the salt - of - the - earth quinn are at odds long before the plane goes down , and all manner of hostile repartee is exchanged between the two from their first meeting .
while some of the lines fall flat , the formulaic motions work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry between ford and heche .
both actors , who have largely done serious works as of late , seem liberated by the lack of dramatic weight on their shoulders , and they deliver their zingers , as weak as they sometimes are , with beguiling abandon .
naturally , there 's nothing like a life - threatening crisis to bring two people together , and quinn and robin 's warmup to each other is sped up even further by the arrival of some bloodthirsty pirates .
granted , some conflict needed to be introduced on the island , but this tacked - on development from writer michael browning is a bit too obviously thrown in for the purpose of adding gratuitous action scenes .
but the point is to get the two together , and their newfound affection causes complications for both , but mostly robin , who came to the islands on a vacation with her fiance frank ( david schwimmer ) , who frantically awaits her return on the home island .
reitman , and old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action - oriented sequences .
his big accomplishment , however , is bringing the old , smiling ford back .
as appealing and charismatic as he always is , ford has n't been quite this charming and affable in years ; he 's obviously having a blast , and the audience can not help but have one along with him . holding her own is heche , whose scrappy character never becomes the screaming ninny
she initially promises to be ( as the plane goes down , she frantically pops stress pills ) .
she can take her lumps , physical and otherwise , just as well as quinn , making her a formidable foil and ideal match . formulaic and light as a feather , _ six_days ,
_ seven_nights _ could be cited as a classic example of the summer " popcorn " movie season 's lack of substance .
it 's certainly fluff , but it 's unpretentious , undemanding , and -- most importantly -- fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach
.
pass the popcorn .
old , reliable hand at breezy comedies , keeps the pace brisk and capably handles the more action - oriented sequences his big accomplishment he 's obviously having a blast , and the audience can not help but have one along with him work because of the unexpectedly electric chemistry the lovable scoundrel is back , giving audiences a fresh reminder of why ford is one of the most enduring and popular modern screen icons unpretentious , undemanding , and -- most importantly -- fun fluff that goes down as easily as a frothy pina colada on a balmy tropical beach with beguiling abandon enjoyable romantic comedy / adventure a formidable foil and ideal match holding her own appealing and charismatic