Forces of Nature Review
by Susan Granger (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)March 23rd, 1999
http://www.speakers-podium.com/susangranger.
Susan Granger's review of "FORCES OF NATURE"
Sandra Bullock shines in this frenetic road comedy/love story about the shared adventures of two unlikely people thrown together on a cross-country trip. She plays a goofy, mischievous, free-spirited lady who finds herself seated on a plane next to Ben Affleck, a stolid New York-based copy-writer. She's going from New York to Savannah, Georgia, to sell a bagel shop and visit her 10 year-old son, while he's nervously en route to his wedding there. But, on take-off, the plane's engine inhales a seagull and they never get off the ground. So, they have to find other means of transportation to their shared destination. Think "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" but add buses and on foot. Patterned on the old Preston Sturges screwball comedies, the premise works because the characters are genuine and their emotional problems are identifiable. You empathize with their dilemma and growing attraction to one another, even though the two stars definitely lack chemistry together. Director Bronwen Hughes ("Harriet the Spy") captures the quirky charm of Marc Lawrence's script, often using MTV-inspired visuals. It's too bad that beautiful Maura Tierney, playing Affleck's fiance, keeps losing her Southern accent, and that the ending takes a detour that may cause some disapproval. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Forces of Nature" is an amusing, romantic 6. Unfortunately, however, many of the best moments are in the coming-attractions trailer.
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