Along Came Polly Review
by Susan Granger (ssg722 AT aol DOT com)January 22nd, 2004
Susan Granger's review of "Along Came Polly" (Universal Pictures)
If there were ever any doubts about the bankability of Jennifer Aniston, whose "Friends" TV series is winding to a close after ten seasons, the opening weekend numbers on this dud of a comedy indicate how her 'girl-next-door' popularity can beckon patrons to the box-office.
Ben Stiller stars as Reuben Feffer, a phobia-ridden risk assessor for an insurance company. When his bride (Debra Messing of TV's "Will & Grace") jilts him for a buff French scuba-diving instructor (Hank Azaria) on their honeymoon in St. Barts, he returns to New York to moan and mope. Trying to cheer him up, his ex-movie-star buddy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) persuades him to attend an art exhibit opening, where he meets spontaneous, free-spirited Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), who's works part-time on a catering crew. Actually, they knew each other back in the seventh grade. So could romance bloom between these awkward opposites?
Writer/director John Hamburg - with screenplay credits for "Meet the Parents" and "Zoolander" - obviously specializes in "embarrassing situational" comedy. Only this time, he has assembled what amounts to a tiresome gag reel - and, while it's crude, it's not convincing. Except for Rudolpho, Polly's nearly blind ferret. Otherwise, Hamburg ineptly flounders into Farrelly fun-flick "American Pie" territory. Playing a nerdy neurotic who is humiliated by bathroom humor is nothing new for Ben Stiller; it's his specialty. As for Jennifer Aniston, her comic timing is impeccable. With Bryan Brown and Alec Baldwin lending support, it's just a shame they have nothing fresh and funny to work with. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Along Came Polly" is flimsy, formulaic 5. It's amiable if not ambitious. But the draw here is Jennifer Aniston.
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