Laws of Attraction

OK, the heading was to grab your attention. Sarah Jessica Parker and her sex-mad cronies aren't (thankfully!) in this, but Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore are.

Every now and then, they make a lightweight comedy romance with English actor Hugh Grant, and someone like Jennifer Lopez or Sandra Bullock, and it falls apart because Grant can't act. Well, this one boldly casts Irish-born Bond actor Brosnan with stage-actress Moore.

It's not a "wet hanky" romance (as some reviewers were evidently expecting) but a tale of one-upmanship between two rival lawyers in Manhattan, both immediately likable characters, with romance, spy cameras and Irish dancing thrown in. Thank God there are no nasal Manhattan accents, people talking really fast about how much money they've made, women discussing sex in coffee houses, people whistling for taxis, scenes of the Statue of Liberty or Frank Sinatra music.

All in all, well worth renting.

This movie reminds me of the romantic screwball comedies from the 30's, 40's and 50's. The movie succeeds in following the humor, witty dialogs and great pace witch made the romantic comedies of old so great. That is, until the ending. The entire ending is ruined, copy-pasted from every other average romantic comedy today (they split up, the guilty one realizes his/her fault and runs to his/her lover and spills his/her guts out... and they live happily ever after). It is not the director's fault, he even tried his best to make the ending not so sleazy (aka the excellent wedding scene). Pierce Brosnan is great, in some scenes even better then Moore, reminds me of Cary Grant, James Stewart in their best work (Bringing up Baby, The Philadelphia Story...). Brosnan is actually becoming a much better actor than he was 6-7 years before. Julianne Moore is, as always, excellent. The supporting is actually also great, from Sheen, Posey, Fisher, Dunn to the locals in the Irish village. All in all a great screwball comedy which has not been made in years, if the ending were any better...

Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) and Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) are New Yorks finest divorce attorneys, but when celebrity Couple (Parker Posey and Michael Sheen) raise the stakes in their divorce, Audrey and Daniel set out to make their cases and end up getting hitched themselves. For the sake of their reputations they must pretend that they are really in love.

Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan have a very good on-screen chemistry, and they are helped by some nice direction and a good script; there's plenty of laughs in this romantic comedy, but it's not a real tearjerker like some others in the genre.

7/10 A fine effort

You ever watch a movie that under normal circumstances you'd think was great and wonderful, but there is something about the movie that keeps you from fully enjoying it? It gets sort of stuck between being great and being good, so ends up in neither place, and you end up liking but not loving the movie. Ultimately the movie falls into abyss of "almost", and you very quickly forget it altogether.

Such is the curse of Laws of Attraction, a really good movie that's just sort of there. Half way into the movie I was wondering to myself why I wasn't connecting more with the movie since its funny, well acted, and very charming in all of the right ways. Somehow despite being able to see the quality I stopped caring what happened.

Can I recommend this romantic comedy about lawyers in love? Yes, its sweet and light and everything a good romantic comedy should be except memorable.

Rent it or wait for cable, but give it shot.

7 out of 10.

Peter Howitt's "Laws of Attraction" is an excuse to present two attractive actors in a light comedy that should have been much better than what one sees on the screen.

Julianne Moore is one of the great actresses working in the American cinema these days. She projects a luminous presence in everything she undertakes. In fact, this gorgeous woman is about the best thing in the film. Pierce Brosnan, on the other hand, plays the rogue lawyer with no scruples. He will do anything to undermine the woman he is supposed to be in love with.

Some of the minor characters were fun to watch in action. Frances Fisher, who could be Ms. Moore's older sister in real life, has been called to played her mother! Yes, by the magic of this inspired casting, Ms. Fisher is the mother that, having a great figure, and a nice personality, can still attract men, on her own terms. She resents being called "mother", and frankly, who can blame her? Parker Posey is excellent, as usual. Nora Dunn, as Judge Abramowitz, shows she should be seen more often.

While there are some funny moments, the film feels flat at times.