okay , bear with me y'all , cause first off i have to get this off my chest : 
what the hell is up with that damn crab ? ? ? 
whew . okay . 
cause that same clip shown over and over again was beginning to get on my nerves towards the end , as cute as the crab maybe . 
even i know that you need more footage than * that * . 
and that wasn't the only thing getting on my nerves . 
the cutesy gimmicks , saccharine sweet score / soundtrack and the pretty young faces of sarah michelle gellar ( as amanda ) and sean patrick flannery ( as tom ) might have held some appeal during , oh , say the first 10 minutes of the movie . 
at first the movie moves along at a quick , interesting pace . 
it is speedily established that something magical is about to happen to amanda when she encounters a totally random fairy godfather type person on the street , whose aforementioned crab follows her everywhere and just * doesn't * die . 
a ridiculous concept , yes , but at this point i'm willing to accept it because i'm willing to accept that this is how amanda's life is changed , how her powers are received . 
later on , the movie can't seem to decide whether these powers come from this fairy godfather or from amanda falling in with tom . 
and this is why the clips of the crab were annoying ; they weren't just repetitive , they were out of place and unnecessary . 
the plot stumbles along at an uneven speed , sometimes dwelling too long on a particular development ( amanda suddenly becoming a great chef , her falling in love with tom , etc . ) , sometimes moving on too quickly for its own good . 
some places the plot just doesn't make sense , sometimes it's way too contrived ( the crab bit , for example ) , and sometimes too corny ( peaches emitting dry ice . 
can't beat that ) . 
all in all the plot seemed fragmented , unconnected . 
not romantic at all , and only funny in some places . 
so , okay , do the magic powers come from the crab ? 
or the fairy godfather ? 
she can * float * now too ? 
and all of a sudden , instead of just making dry ice come out of peaches , she can put her emotions into her food ? 
tom all of a sudden just accepts amanda's " witchcraft " in the end ? 
would people really dine in a restaurant that resembles life after death in tupac's video ? 
what the hell is up with that damn crab ? 
it is unfortunate , because i liked the basic premise of the movie , until it became too fantastical and tiresome . 
the film seemed to skirt around a serious theme or at least * a * theme for a while , but towards the end it resolved to show us long flashback clips and 5 minutes of people crying at their tables . 
the humor was good in some places ( nolan gets the funniest bits , including that incomprehensible , totally random thing with the dolls ) . 
gellar and flannery are qualified actors , and gellar has a particular charm , but i much prefer her playing the saucy buffy ( or even annette in the upcoming " cruel intentions " ) than this sorry excuse for a character . 
it's almost funny sometimes to see these two trying so hard to make the dialogue sound better than it is , or trying to make the relationship seem more plausible . 
the supporting character nolan was a highlight , though he reminded me a bit of kevin in " you've got mail " ( see footnotes ) . 
and , as always , typical of a chick flick / romantic comedy , there's a seemingly endless romantic soundtrack in the background , cued up at all the right places . 
this sort of got on the nerves after a while , too . 
 " simply irresistible " is not hard to understand , light , funny in some places , and generally disappointing because it can't draw the line between romance and protracted sap , between humor and tired slapstick . 
and how could i refrain from making a pun ? 
 . 
 . 
 . 
 " simply irresistible " is all too easy to resist . 
 ( first viewing , 2/6/99 ) 
 * did anyone else think this was a tad bit similar to " you've got mail " ( or " the shop around the corner " ) ? 
business rivals fall in love . 
female counterpart's business is in danger of being shut down . 
female as mother- like figure guiding her . 
the annoying , hysterical ex-girlfriends . 
 * i _really_ like sarah michelle gellar's wardrobe .