Bounce Review
by Tim Wick
This movie is not what the studio is trying to sell you. The studio wants
you to think this is a romantic comedy because more people go to see
romantic
comedies that pure romances. But this is a pure romance. The comic
elements
are few and far between. I don't say this to rip the movie, but to make
sure
you know what kind of a movie you are seeing up front. It took me a good
thirty minutes to get used to the fact that I was not watching a comedy.
I also have to praise whoever was responsible for this movies trailers.
Though not misleading about the films content, they are almost completely
comprised of scenes that are not actually in the movie. This provided us
with a rare treat - a preview that told us just enough about the movie, but
didn't give the plot away. I've ranted about crappy trailers before, so
please understand that I was really appreciative of this one.
Bounce is, as I've said, a romance. Don't go to this movie expecting
surprises. Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck are the lovers du jour and as
one
might expect, they are drawn together in spite of a difficult secret that
one
of them (in this case Affleck) is keeping. Will Affleck reveal his
horrible
secret before Paltrow finds out for herself? Once he fails to do so, will
they spend a tortured time apart before finally realizing that this
relationship is right for both of them?
As I said in my review of Return to Me, if you don't know the answer, you
should. Romances are never about surprises. If we wanted the lovers to
have
a bittersweet affair that could never really turn into a relationship, we
would watch The English Patient.
Romances are about how the characters fall for each other and how they
manage
to deal with the emotional road block that prolongs the happy ending.
With that in mind, the movie does a pretty good job. Not a great job, but a
pretty good job. Here I will get into a few spoilers, but it's nothing you
don't get in the first five minutes of the film. Still, I thought it would
be fair to warn you.
What the film does well is get the lovers together. Affleck gives his
airplane seat to Paltrow's husband at the beginning of the film. The plane
crashes. Affleck, who is already an alcoholic, sinks into depression and
ends up in rehab. As part of his twelve step program, he sees that he is
supposed to make amends to those he has hurt. In his tortured mind, he
sees
Paltrow as someone he has hurt.
From there, Affleck tries to do her a favor and they find themselves falling
for each other. I though this part was done pretty well. As with most
movies of this type, the courtship might have been a bit quick, but the film
still takes it slow enough to make it convincing.
Where the film falls flat is in the revelation/forgiveness section. It
doesn't fall really flat, mind you, but it's not as good as it could be. Of
course Paltrow will find out Afflecks secret - but how she finds out is a
bit
too arbitrary and perfectly timed.
From there, the film ties up just a bit too quickly and includes a twist
that
probably wasn't needed.
Neither Paltrow or Affleck are stunning in their roles, but neither one is
awful either. They are supposed to be ordinary people caught in
extraordinary circumstances and given that, they carry it off well enough.
None of the secondary characters are really of note. Almost all of the
screen time belongs to the two leads.
But what the heck? As a date movie, this is a decent one. Perhaps it isn't
as fun or endearing as Return to Me, but it's still an enjoyable enough
diversion.
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