Thursday, January 15, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Film: Polly wants a comedy

Along Came Polly is a romantic comedy minus romance and humor

By Tammy McMahan

Along Came Polly is a case of art imitating life imitating art. Explanation: Writer-director John Hamburg's comedy is as risk-averse and unamusing as Ben Stiller's overly cautious, detail-obsessed character Reuben Feffer.

Feffer, an insurance company risk analyst plagued with irritable bowel syndrome, falls for flaky free spirit Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston) after his wife (Debra Messing) leaves him on their honeymoon. This odd couple romantic comedy offers a "sparkless" pairing and humor that's too often forced, disgusting and repetitious.

Hamburg tries to strike comic gold by once more placing Stiller in the role of a likable, neurotic everyman whose life is governed by Murphy's Law (think Meet the Parents, which Hamburg co-wrote, and There's Something About Mary). In Parents and Mary, Stiller offered a great mix of Woody Allenesque anal retentiveness and gross, but, nonetheless, hilarious antics. However, Hamburg's material is so lacking that Stiller's Feffer is but a bland imitation of the actor's other cinematic incarnations.

Feffer's weak characterization is due in part to the complete absence of chemistry between Stiller and Aniston. Although Hamburg sledgehammers the points that Feffer needs some spontaneity and Polly needs some stability, their bond isn't credible because they politely tolerate each other as opposed to falling in love.

Perhaps borrowing from Aniston's TV hit "Friends," Hamburg wants the actress to channel the sitcom's ditzy bohemian Phoebe for Polly. However, he ignores the way Aniston convincingly, endearingly portrays how her strong-willed, occasionally flighty character Rachel is attached to the shyer, nerdier Ross.

A respectable supporting cast including Philip Seymour Hoffman (as Feffer's best buddy) and Alec Baldwin (as his boss) must suffer through "aren't these bodily functions jokes funny?" indignities. Messing and Hank Azaria are given one-note bits, with Azaria relegated to his now-commonplace role as a foreign-accented gigolo. Bryan Brown offers some brief, comic respites as a wealthy Aussie given to extreme sports, but the gag becomes redundant.

But, of course, that's par for the humorless course in a romantic comedy that has neither real love nor real laughs.
"The script's definitely interesting, but maybe the world isn't ready for 'Friends: 2045 A.D.' quite yet."
"Wheeee! I am winning happy feather bonus round."