Sweet November Review

by SSG Syndicate (Ssg722 AT aol DOT com)
February 19th, 2001

http://www.susangranger.com/

Susan Granger's review of "SWEET NOVEMBER" (Warner Bros.)
    If you enjoy a sentimental, unabashedly romantic love story, this is for you. Keanu Reeves stars as a San Francisco ad exec, a totally self-absorbed workaholic, who is relentlessly stalked by an irresistibly beguiling free-spirit, played by Charlize Theron. "Your intimacy skills have withered away to nothing. You could become emotionally extinct," she says, sensing his inhibitions. "Come live with me for one month. A month is long enough to be meaningful and short enough to stay out of trouble." After refusing her unconventional offer several times, he finally agrees - but only after he's fired and his girl-friend walks out. Thus, he becomes her November self-discovery mission and, predictably, they fall in love. But you know there's got to be a catch - and there is. He first senses trouble when she refuses to see her family at Thanksgiving, explaining: "Holiday fights are a little too traditional for my taste." Based on Herman Raucher's 1968 comedy/drama, written by Kurt Voelker and Paul Yurick, and directed by Pat O'Connor, it's the timeless and touching story of a woman with a terminal illness which makes her appreciate life as it should be lived - "firmly and joyously in the moment" - and an unquenchable desire to be remembered once she's gone. Unfortunately, Keanu Reeves displays the emotional range of a golf club, leaving Charlize Theron to carry every scene, aided by Jason Isaacs as her kindly transvestite neighbor, Greg Germann as Keanu's parasitical partner, and Liam Aiken as the fatherless kid across the street. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Sweet November" is a schmaltzy 7 - and I predict you won't leave the theater without shedding tears. If you're curious, the original "Sweet November" with Sandy Dennis, Anthony Newley and Theodore Bikel is now available on video.

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