O Segredo do Sucesso

Ever see a movie that was way better than you expected it to be? (For example, "Fools Rush In" with Matthew Perry) Good Advice is one of those movies HBO will probably show over and over, and I'll watch it every time it's on! Ma-Sheen turns in a great performance, as does Jon Lovitz, and Angie Harmon is as gorgeous as ever. A fun movie, any day of the week.

Charlie Sheen is so lovable as Ryan in this movie! This is one of his best movies, of course after the epic Major League and Hot Shots. He's plays well with Denise Richards, although she was painfully wrongfully cast as Cindy. His subsequent relationship with Page is much more entertaining. I enjoyed Page's secretary and all her one-liners and blatant innuendos directed at Ryan. Charlie played the fallen business man very well. I adored Rosanna Arquette and still maintain that she is the only talented one in that family. Her relationship with her plastic surgeon husband was so funny... perhaps even more funny than Charlie's desperation. This film is a must-rent!

I'm happy that I hadn't read the negative review on this site before I saw the DVD on the video store shelf -- otherwise, I would have passed over a good movie. I knew nothing about it before seeing it on the shelf, so perhaps my expectations were low. True, it was not Academy Award material, but it was a good romantic comedy -- cute and funny. And that was the unanimous consensus of the 2 females and 1 male who watched it together. Give it a try!

It takes a lot for me to enjoy a romantic comedy I usually don't. But "Good Advice" is one of the few that I would recommend. It is funny! The whole movie too. This is so well written and directed that there is not a dull moment anywhere in it. The actors are ALL perfectly cast with Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards and Barry Newman especially so. What is really good about this film is that the writers concentrated on the humorous storyline about the lovelorn column deception and not pad it out with unneeded romantic scenes between the two main characters. The film reminds me of those type of "frothy" comedies they made in the 1960's (without the heavy sexual humor that this film has of course) and because of it's unique blend of comedy, light romance and pathos the makers ended up with a witty highly entertaining movie.

"Good Advice" doesn't try to be anything it is not, and knowing its limitations makes it a good watch.

Charlie Sheen plays a disgraced stockbroker who was set up and loses his job, then his girlfriend (Denise Richards), who leaves him and the country, as well as her job as an advice columnist, behind. Sheen's character is desperate for money so he takes over the column under "Dear Cyndy's" name. Richards gives an over-the-top performance as the super-hot golddigger whose column wasn't making waves, or money. Sheen takes the job more seriously (since he needs the money), and the movie focuses on his evolution from a Type-A jerk into a new-age sensitive man in touch with his feminine side.

As with any movie of this type, the plot and ending are pretty easy guesses, but the key is in the performances, and the entire cast is strong. Jon Lovitz plays the loyal friend (a plastic surgeon), while Rosanna Arquette is convincing as his materialistic wife and Cyndy's emotional support. The characters are more like what you'd find in real life rather than Hollywood, in that they weren't niced up the way many who move in the world of fiction are.

While I wouldn't be moved to see this film in a theater (it went straight to video), if nothing else is on cable, I might give it another watch. The movie has enough staying power to ensure that you'll be able to find it on cable for many years to come.