Bounce (2000)

What makes BOUNCE rise above the average of romantic films is the direction of Don Roos, who also made the eccentric THE OPPOSITE OF SEX. Here he avoids sappiness but every now and then the film gets quite melodramatic. However, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck are surprisingly good and have a nice chemistry, in a good and warm date movie.

7/10

Fmovies: Many people will see this movie portray what is often described as fate, but it is ironic that the protagonist is an atheist. That's right: he does not believe in any god.

I am glad to have caught the film on TV, even if I missed another program because I couldn't tune away from the channel. Yes, the acting of the two main characters was so strong, and they had so much chemistry together, that the sometimes predictable plot was more than made up for.

We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us. - Henry Charles Bukowski (another atheist)

First of all, Ben Affleck's character didn't kill the girl's husband, he didn't shoot the plane out of the sky or force the douche bag to take his ticket. So why is he all broken up over it? They don't even touch on that in the movie. He got super lucky, that's all. Woohoo!

This is yet further evidence to back up my contention that all bad acting in movies is the director's fault. Always. If you don't like something, then shoot it again until you get what you want-or cut it out. In Bounce, actors simply can't win when faced with a scene direction like "you just learn that your husband is part of a smoking hole in the ground in Kansas. Now get out there and act!"

Maudlin doesn't even begin to convey how awful some of these scenes are, at least for me, both Paltrow's grief and Affleck's pain. They are hard to watch. I'm sure even their proud parents can't watch these scenes without wincing.

And then there is the story itself, which is mind-numbingly stupid and precipitated on the most bizarre coincidence: the guy who gave away his ticket in the unlucky death flight, just happens to work at the company which handles the crashed airline's PR. What if the wife of the dead guy had been a fat, ugly cow? How would his guilt have played out in that un-cinematic scenario?

Bounce fmovies. BOUNCE (2000) ***1/2 Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Joe Morton, Natasha Henstridge, Jennifer Grey, Tony Goldwyn, Johnny Galecki, Caroline Aaron, Alex D. Linz, David Dorfman. Excellent romantic drama tinged with equal parts tragedy and comedy with Affleck (in one of his best roles to date) as a charming alcoholic ad exec who sobers up after a year of harboring a guilt-plagued secret: - giving his plane ticket to family man Goldwyn en route home only to die in a plane crash killing all aboard – and seeking out the widow to make amends. What he doesn't count on is falling in love with her and the circumstances hovering their impending romance.

Paltrow has never been finer and succeeds in making her character not a victim but an individual coping with the harsh reality of raising her boys by herself and coming to terms with loving again. Written and directed by Don Roos (the script is smart, witty and poignant throughout with characters that feel all too real in what easily could've been manipulatively maudlin. Laugh and cry formula works and the on-again-off-again real-life relationship between the couple underscores all the emotions on full tilt.

Why, why, why did Jennifer Grey have to go and get a nose job? I hardly recognized her in this movie. IMHO, she looked rather attractive just the way she was.

OK, having got that off my chest, I am one of those who like Bounce, despite Affleck's limitations as an actor and the somewhat predictable plot. A bittersweet, tender romance movie is not really meant to move mountains artistically, nor should it be expected to. But this one does draw you in, emotionally, for better or for worse. Case in point: Look at all the IMDb comments posted on it! And as for those who would have liked more sizzle in the romance between Affleck and Paltrow, remember, this is a film that also has the death of Abby's husband as its constant backdrop, hence, the film's rather understated treatment of their romance, I think.

Old premise, new film. A reasonable attempt at film making, "Bounce" is fraught with problems not the least of which is casting Affleck opposite a fine actress. This light drama starts okay but fizzles. The chemistry between Affleck and Paltrow is predictably nonexistent. Affleck and Bullock, maybe. Affleck and Paltrow, no way. The drama in all corners of the film, from alcoholism to the Kodak moments to the "can I love the guy who killed my husband" paradox doesn't work because the film builds a weak foundation, develops characters poorly, and just plain unravels in the denouement. Wait for broadcast on this one.