Wild Mustangs rage free across an open field
providing visual symbolism of the bachelor's yearning
for independence and variety of grasslands upon which
to graze. Crude as it may be, the analogy charges on.
By the end of the film, the steeds become brides
chasing down one lone bachelor as he darts like a
terrified doe from a pride of hungry lions.
The pictorially spectacular intro and conclusion
form an elegantly impressive ring box which
unfortunately contains a less than precious romantic
comedy, that at times is not comedic and even less
often romantic.
Chris O'Donnell is TV perfect, but big screen
short. Renée Zellweger does a better job of
fitting the bill. While Brook Shields blows them both
out of the water with her short cameo.
A stampeding horse, the film leaps strongly from
the gate, yet the downtimes between the admittedly
strong laughs steadily increase as the reels
progress. Two weak supporting actors also contribute
to mid-movie drag. This could have been due to talent
direction as few potent acting moments make it to the
screen.
Cutting to the chase, long time bachelor
(O'Donnell) falls in love with equally independent
Zellweger; however as the relationship nears "poop or
get off the pot," the bachelor just isn't ready to
... well ... poop. Still funny at this point,
O'Donnell's flawed proposals are truly humorous. Then
a flagrantly contrived 100 million dollar inheritance
(which will be lost if he doesn't marry in 27 hours)
leads to a less than compelling series of finance
inspired proposals to his dwindling list of past
lovers.
Ultimately light and cute, the middle had me
checking my watch.
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