THIS INEPT `FOOL' WORTHY OF KISS-OFF.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Film Critic Chemistry is the toughest element to get right in a romantic comedy. Julia Roberts had it with Rupert Everett in ``My Best Friend's Wedding.'' But she didn't have it with Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. Biography Early life Mulroney was born in Alexandria, Virginia to Ellen, a housewife and amateur actress originally from Manchester, Iowa, and Michael Mulroney, a law professor at Villanova , which is why that movie only worked about half the time. In the bland new romantic saga (calling it a comedy would be charitable) ``Kissing a Fool,'' the chemistry problem isn't between the guys and the girl. It's the interplay between the men that isn't believable. And that, combined with a slight, sitcom script that stretches the plot even at 93 minutes, dooms the film to the ash heap of failed romantic comedies. David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 12, 1966) in Astoria, New York) is an Emmy-nominated American actor and director, who gained popularity when playing Dr. Ross Geller on the American sitcom Friends. and Jason Lee play lifelong best friends who are at different ends of the emotional scale when it comes to women. Schwimmer, cast against type, is Max, a womanizing wom·an·ize v. woman·ized, woman·iz·ing, woman·iz·es v.intr. To pursue women lecherously. v.tr. To give female characteristics to; feminize. sportscaster who (inexplicably) can't keep the ladies at bay. (His signature catch phrase - ``What up?'' - would rank right with a baseball cap worn backward as an immediate turnoff for women.) Best buddy Lee Buddy Lee was an advertising mascot for Lee Jeans. The doll, a promotional item for the company from 1920 to 1962, was brought back as the star of television advertising for the company's Lee Dungarees line from 1998 until the mid-2000s. is Jay, a morose mo·rose adj. Sullenly melancholy; gloomy. [Latin m  r romantic, still pining for his
fashion model girlfriend months after their breakup. Jay is writing a
book about his gloom and doom, and helping him sort through his feelings
is Sam, a beautiful book editor (Mili Avital in an underwritten role).
For unknown reasons, sad sack Jay decides to set Max up with Sam, even though Max certainly doesn't need his help in that area. Max and Sam - polar opposites - immediately fall in love and become engaged. Before you know it, Max is moving his giant cardboard cutout cut·out n. 1. Something cut out or intended to be cut out from something else. 2. Electricity A device that interrupts, bypasses, or disconnects a circuit or circuit element. 3. of John Madden into Sam's stylish townhouse town·house or town house n. 1. A residence in a city. 2. A row house, especially a fashionable one. . Seems like a match made in hell. Not content with perfect happiness, Max decides he needs to test Sam's fidelity. He asks Jay to make a pass at her, setting into motion all sorts of feelings and recriminations and contrivances that labor hard to become more than a 30-minute sitcom episode. The movie is told in flashback flash·back n. 1. An unexpected recurrence of the effects of a hallucinogenic drug long after its original use. 2. A recurring, intensely vivid mental image of a past traumatic experience. by Bonnie Hunt, who plays a book editor who knows the love story, but seems bored by it. Hard to blame her. Schwimmer and Lee are completely unbelievable as friends, and their scenes together play as if they were acting in separate movies. These are guys who in real life would have grown apart after high school. In ``Fool,'' they just mostly yell at each other and fight, demonstrating absolutely no common bonds that would keep them loyal to each other. Schwimmer, clearly trying to stretch from playing the nebbish neb·bish n. A person regarded as weak-willed or timid. [Yiddish nebekh, poor, unfortunate, of Slavic origin; see bhag- in Indo-European roots. Ross on ``Friends,'' is fine as the jerk, delivering a completely authentic performance. Lee, on the other hand, is gratingly annoying as the whiny writer. The character is flat and dull, much like most of this film itself. The facts The film: ``Kissing a Fool'' (R; language). The stars: David Schwimmer, Jason Lee, Mili Avital, Bonnie Hunt. Behind the scenes: Directed by Doug Ellin. Written by James Frey and Ellin. Released by Universal Pictures. Running time: One hour, 33 minutes. Playing: Citywide. Our rating: two stars |
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