Those expecting to see your conventional Hollywood romantic comedy will instead have a chance to view a film that refreshingly doesn't apologize for flaws the characters demonstrate and for the most part shy's away from most story contrivances. Story is about Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) who lives with her four daughters and is still feeling the incredible pain of her husband abandoning them. Terry drinks and lounges around the house watching coverage of the Iraq war on television as her daughters cook the meals and generally keep the house running. One day Terry is visited by her neighbor Denny Davies (Kevin Costner) who drinks a lot also and the two of them end up hanging out together and eventually starting a romance that leaves them both unsure of where it will lead.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Denny is a sports radio host and former baseball player who never made much money and spends his time at home sipping Budweiser beer and autographing memorabilia to sell to fans. Terry is having trouble with her daughters such as Andy (Erika Christensen) who starts dating Denny's producer Shep (Mike Binder) who is in his 40's and also Emily (Keri Russell) who wants to be a dancer but ends up in the hospital. Terry also has to deal with Hadley (Alicia Witt) who unexpectedly announces she's pregnant and is going to be married, and also her youngest daughter Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood) who is in high school and is having a relationship (of some sort) with a boy who's gay.
This is written and directed by Mike Binder who plays Shep in the film and I think he does an admirable job of making sure that his script avoids the usual romantic comedy clichés although some critics lambasted him for the plot twist at the end. I personally didn't dislike the ending but I do feel that the film could be received just as strongly (or even more) without the revelation about Terry's husband. Binder's script asks the viewer to absorb a lot especially with all the subplots involving the 4 daughters and this does give the film's structure a sloppy appeal as it wanders back and forth from comedy and drama. The story in some ways is reminiscent of something James L. Brooks would write as the film gives the opportunity for it's characters to show both their humorous and serious sides and Allen is very much like Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment" as she struggles with family issues. Allen is very strong here and gives an unflinching performance as she allows her character to be very flawed and very human and the way Costner's Denny reacts to her is both realistic and poignant. I'm not one of those who walked away thinking I saw a very special film but I do think I viewed something that (for the most part) remained true to what the characters were really about and avoided the usual Hollywood contrivances.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Denny is a sports radio host and former baseball player who never made much money and spends his time at home sipping Budweiser beer and autographing memorabilia to sell to fans. Terry is having trouble with her daughters such as Andy (Erika Christensen) who starts dating Denny's producer Shep (Mike Binder) who is in his 40's and also Emily (Keri Russell) who wants to be a dancer but ends up in the hospital. Terry also has to deal with Hadley (Alicia Witt) who unexpectedly announces she's pregnant and is going to be married, and also her youngest daughter Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood) who is in high school and is having a relationship (of some sort) with a boy who's gay.
This is written and directed by Mike Binder who plays Shep in the film and I think he does an admirable job of making sure that his script avoids the usual romantic comedy clichés although some critics lambasted him for the plot twist at the end. I personally didn't dislike the ending but I do feel that the film could be received just as strongly (or even more) without the revelation about Terry's husband. Binder's script asks the viewer to absorb a lot especially with all the subplots involving the 4 daughters and this does give the film's structure a sloppy appeal as it wanders back and forth from comedy and drama. The story in some ways is reminiscent of something James L. Brooks would write as the film gives the opportunity for it's characters to show both their humorous and serious sides and Allen is very much like Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment" as she struggles with family issues. Allen is very strong here and gives an unflinching performance as she allows her character to be very flawed and very human and the way Costner's Denny reacts to her is both realistic and poignant. I'm not one of those who walked away thinking I saw a very special film but I do think I viewed something that (for the most part) remained true to what the characters were really about and avoided the usual Hollywood contrivances.