A charming romantic comedy with a grand romantic gesture, May 30 2004

By	Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) - See all my reviews

The story first time screenwriter Eric Pomerance has to tell is about Lucy, who is about to get married when we first meet her. We learn that after being dumped by her boyfriend under circumstances that would send most young women to hide under their covers for at least a year, Lucy is set up with five blind dates over the course of that year by her sister. One of these five, we are told, will end up marrying Lucy and obviously we are supposed to see if we can figure out who is Mr. Right before our heroine does.

We are introduced to the five blind dates in quick succession, which sets up the logic of the film as we cycle through Lucy's five choices again and again. First, there is Doug (John Hannah), a recently divorced entomologist. He is simple and sincere but seems a bit intimidated by the train wreck that is Lucy's life. Second is the steamy playwright Gabriel (Gael García Bernal), who is sexy as all get out and has a stream going through his apartment. Third is Bobby (Anthony LaPaglia) an ex-Jock who cannot believe that Lucy (a) does not know who he is and (b) refuses his moves. Fourth is Luke (David Boreanaz WITH A TAN!) a physical therapist who has plenty of other women interested in him if Lucy is not interested. Finally there is Barry (Henry Thomas), a charming computer nerd.

It takes a while for this movie to really get rolling because the storytelling gimmick gets in the way at the beginning. All five of the blind dates are introduced as disasters so it is somewhat surprising that any of them get to the level where marriage is a possibility. But part of the charm of Pomerance's story is that even the guy who makes the worst first impression might actually be a worthwhile human being. Of course the other possibility, that some of these guys might not really be as great as they seem, comes into play as well. You may have a favorite early on, but it is hard to really declare any of these guys out of the running, until the grand romantic gestures has you declaring game, set, match (and even then...).

The jumping around does not always work, mainly to the detriment of our getting to really know Lucy herself until the last half of the film, but there are enough cuts that work to the advantage of "I'm With Lucy" to make it a worthwhile gimmick on balance. More importantly, the film has a payoff that exceeds the set up, which is rare enough in contemporary romantic comedies to make it something to cherish.

Final Note: I never really heard of this film before and like many people only stumbled across it because David Boreanaz (WITH A TAN!) is in it. But I am not surprised that "I'm With Lucy" was under the radar because the trailer for this film is one of the worst I have ever seen. If I had seen the trailer first I would have probably passed on this film, even with the presence of the actor formally known as Angel. But that would be a mistake because this one is definitely worth a look.

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