SUSANNE PEREZ
Can two ridiculously beautiful and successful divorce attorneys find
true love among the ruins of so many disastrous marriages? Is it
possible to bed and wed in a drunken haze and yet still fall in love?
The makers of "Laws of Attraction" (which opened the recent Newport
Beach Film Festival) would have us believe yet again in the type of
fairy tale romance that can only exist in a movie.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy if it's
done right. Think of "Notting Hill" or any of the great Katharine
Hepburn/Spencer Tracy films that all featured sharp writing, wit and
real conflict. I saw a recent promo for "Attraction" that compared it
to "Adam's Rib" -- please! There is no resemblance between this new
movie and that classic '40s screwball comedy except it is also about
two lawyers.
Pierce Brosnan is Daniel Rafferty, a scruffy but still lethal
lawyer recently returned to New York. His adversary is the equally
capable, uptight, junk-food junkie Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) who
does everything by the book. Naturally, they are instantly attracted
to each other, but Audrey would rather give up her huge diamond
earrings than admit it.
These two wage war in the courtroom but we can tell they are
falling for each other. We know this because just before a tender
moment ensues, the violins swell up and before we know it, these guys
have tumbled into bed.
Things get rather nasty when Daniel and Audrey become opposing
counsel in a divorce between a rock star and his designer wife, whose
main point of contention is the ownership of a rustic Irish castle.
This is really just a plot device to feature our stars at a quaint
festival in a small town and another chance for them to get bombed
and get busy.
The courtroom scenes could have been taken from one of Judge
Judy's and the entire plot, really, is just silly and very
predictable. Not even the considerable charm and talents of Brosnan
and Moore can make up for a tepid script.
* SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant
for a financial services company.
'Mean Girls' familiar but well-written
"Freaky Friday" director Mark Waters teams up again with young
actress Lindsay Lohan in this telling tale of high school girls
behaving badly. "Mean Girls" covers very familiar territory but stays
a cut above the average suburban teen girl plot because of its
quality source material and adapted screenplay.
Tina Fey is the head writer of "Saturday Night Live" and co-host
