dir-scr Gerard Stembridge
with Stuart Townsend, Kate Hudson, Frances O'Connor,
Charlotte Bradley, Rosaleen Linehan, Tommy Tiernan,
Alan Maher, Brendan Dempsey, Cathleen Bradley, Roger Gregg
BBC-Miramax 00/Ireland
Review by Rich Cline
The handsome Adam (Townsend) walks in just when the wacky flirt Lucy (Hudson) decides she's going to stop dating cool studs and find a nice guy. And frankly he seems far too perfect--considerate, gentle, romantic. And he gets on great with Lucy's family: arty, bookworm sister Laura (O'Connor); slinky-but-bored married sister Alice (Charlotte Bradley); desperate brother David (Maher) and enthusiastic mum (Lineham). In fact, maybe he's getting on too well with them all....
Basically this is a story about a guy who loves life, and loves being exactly who someone needs at the time, even if that means throwing out concepts like honesty and fidelity. Think of this as a comic The Talented Mr Ripley without all the gruesome murderous bits. It's very cleverly written ... and played to perfection by the superior cast. But there's absolutely nothing going on beneath the surface and no real sense of reality in the way anyone acts or reacts. This lack of substance weakens the film seriously--it's wicked fun, but what's the point? There are certainly issues here writer-director Stembridge could have explored just a little bit.
[15--themes, language, sexual situations] 24.Oct.00
UK release 30.Mar.01; US release 2.Mar.01
