FOOLS RUSH
IN
RATING: 5.5 / 10 --> Not good enough to recommend
Review Date:
April 11, 1998
Director:
Andy Tennant
Writer:
Katherine Reback
Producer:
Doug Draizin
Actors:
Matthew Perry as Alex
Whitman
Salma Hayek as Isabel
Fuentes
Joe Tenney as Jeff
Genre:
Romantic Comedy
Year of Release:
1997
This film's title might identify the people who went to see this
movie in the theatres. It stars Matthew Perry, of TV'S Friends
fame, and Salma Hayek, the hot Latin actress of the moment.
PLOT:
Whitebread businessman Whitman (Perry) has a one-night stand with
Fuentes (Hayek) in Las Vegas, and finds out three months later
that she's pregnant with his child. The rest of the movie is
spent trying to bridge the gap between their two cultures, their
in-laws and their respective desires to live in different cities.
CRITIQUE:
I consider the fact that I just saw this movie last night, and
barely remember anything about it (and no, I wasn't intoxicated),
as a tell-tale sign of the film's weak showing. The story is one
that we've seen a thousand times before (opposites falling in
love), the jokes are mostly retreads from earlier better comedies
(as he's trying to open the champagne bottle, he sees her in a
negligee, and the cap of the champagne bursts open...hmmm...never
seen that one before), and the acting is so-so. The one really
funny joke is presented when Hayek tells Perry that the condom
probably didn't work the night that they had sex, and he says
"What do you mean "didn't work"? That's their
whole reason for being...to work !!". I laughed.
Unfortunately for this comedy, that was one of the few times that
I actually found myself laughing out loud, and that's despite the
film being set in one of my favourite cities in the world, Las
Vegas! Hayek's performance was weak at best, and Perry doesn't
really stretch much from his familiar TV role (give him a
cellular phone, and yes, he's a businessman?).
This film is actually based on a philosophical theory that I
strongly believe in ("Your destiny has already been decided,
you just have to read the signs"), and yet, even that bit of
knowledge made little difference in the viewing of this sub-par
romantic comedy. Mind you, if you want to hear some cool Elvis
tunes, and / or enjoy either Perry or Hayek for any reason, this
movie might just rev your engines. Otherwise, I suggest you avoid
the "fool" tag stapled in its title, and re-rent the
greatest romantic comedy of all time, WHEN HARRY MET SALLY...
(9/10) another ten times.
Little Known Facts:
The man who plays Matthew Perry's father in this picture, is in
fact, Matthew Perry's dad in real life (I wonder how he got this
gig?).
Matthew Perry was raised in Ottawa, Canada, and his step-father
is Keith Morrison (news reporter for NBC news).
Salma Hayek stands 5"2, was born in southeast Mexico, and is
the daughter of a Lebanese father and a Mexican mother.
(c) 1998 Berge Garabedian
Movie Reviews by Berge Garabedian