Forces of Nature
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Movie Reviews of Forces of Nature
Movie Review: Waste of talent and potential material.
Summary: 2 Stars
There's nothing really more irritating than sitting down to a movie that you think is going to be good and ends up falling flat on its face. "Forces of Nature," while trying to be funny and cheerful, succeeds only in achieving this goal, and, I must say, very admirably. Promoted as a bright and sassy comedy about a guy trying desperately to get to his wedding, it ends up being more, so much more, in fact, that it bogs the film down in a blithering mess of subplot and washed up one-liners which carry on for too long. The husband in question is Ben Holmes, who hates bachelor parties and can't wait to get hitched with his soulmate sweetheart. Of course, they both live in New York, and since the story needs a great deal of distance to separate our two love birds for a long period of time, the wedding is going to take place in Savannah, where her parents are planning a very festive celebration. Ben's parents want to marry him off for some reason not discussed in the plot. She flies down before him (why not together?), and he soon boards his own plane which has an accident on the runway, leaving him and his seating partner Sarah stranded. Sarah is a bit wild and evasive, without a care in the world it seems, though her admissions will later prove otherwise. Thus begins the wild race down to Savannah, involving natural and human disasters which stand in his way, not to mention his undeniable attraction to the illustrious Sarah.
The story seems like it has a lot going for it. So why does it fail in so many places during the movie? Well, there's a lot of things wrong with it: the contrivance of the plot, the bad execution of most of the key scenes, the let-down ending, and most of all, the character of Ben.
Throughout the entire movie, our two little nomads run into one problem after another, from things like stalled planes to switched train cars, from stormy weather to geriatrics on a travel bus who believe the lie about Ben being a doctor, Ben and Sarah run into just about anything you can possibly think of. While this may sound amusing, it gets to the point where you keep wishing he'd do one of two things: call his parents and get their credit card number to purchase a ticket to Savannah, or screw Sarah like he knows he wants to, call his fiancee and break the wedding off, and run away into the sunset and never be seen again.
The way some of the scenes in this film were carried out, as well as their content, are too contrived and unbelievable to make the movie work. one of these scenes that especially stands out is the trip they take to K-Mart to get out of a rainstorm. Here, they are seen romping through the store, using walkie-talkies to communicate while shopping, sitting in beach lounge chairs having drinks and talking like they own the chain of stores. I'm not sure how they usually operate things at K-Mart, but in my town, they'd be kicked out by management. The ending is the biggest contrivance, and since I cannot give it away, let's just say that there's no way you can have a wedding like that.
The characters of the film turn out to be a major disappointment, especially when they are given the opportunity to shine. Ben, portrayed by Ben Affleck, is portrayed as nothing more than a mushy, whining idiot who you wish would trip and break his face at least ten times throughout the movie. While his inner struggle is supposed to provide a dramatic factor for the movie, it does nothing more than make him and the story more annoying and unbearable. Sandra Bullock, while charming and radiant, proves that her character is a big fat waste of talent. Her free-spiritedness and wit grow even more tired than Affleck's whining, though she does have her monents of hilarity. The saddest waste of actress is Maura Tierney, who plays Ben's fiancee. During her stay in Savannah, awaiting the arrival of Ben, all she can do is pout about his inability to reach her sooner, get drunk with friends, be seduced without success by an old high school male friend, and listen to her parents gripe and complain about her fiancee's tardiness.
One an even worse note, I must comment on the decision to try and have a parental storyline going on in the midst of everything else (as if there weren't enough to keep up with already). Tierney's parents turn out to be separated, while Affleck's are happily married. They keep popping up just when you think they've been obliterated by the scriptwriter who was deciding to give us a blessing.
My summation: too much plot going on, hardly a shred of believability, even if you suspend disbelief, and less-than-amusing characters, all combined into one large mess that makes "Forces of Nature" a very confused and sloppy attempt at a romantic comedy. To thou who wouldst see this movie, I charge thee beware endless subplots and annoyances that make your own life's discord seem like posies in a breezy field.
Movie Review: Dysfunctional People
Summary: 2 Stars
I disagree with virtually all of the reviewers about this film. It was touted as a comedy and "outrageously funny". Well it wasn't overly funny and it made a real effort to be funny but the "funny" scenes were so obviously forced and so obviously dumb that they just came across as stupid. Finding a rental car is not that difficult and that is the basis for this movie. I can't believe that anyone is as stupid as these people were supposed to be. Bullock is supposed to be a free spirit but she comes across as immature, undisciplined, and self absorbed. This was a total waste of talent and Affleck and Bullock did their best but why people of their abilities agreed to appear in this film is a mystery. I think what put me off of this film is it's totally unrealistic view of marriage. Of course these are all Hollywood types where any marriage lasting longer than a month is viewed as unusual. This film would have you believe that every marriage is at its core -- unhappy and that most people are divorced or adulterers. Men and women are unhappy with their partners and anyone who gets married should expect to be unhappy -- that is the message here, but it is also how most Hollywood types view marriage. Beyond that we have the usual Hollywood view that EVERYONE smokes Marijuana or takes drugs of some sort -- EVERYBODY DOES. Well I don't think so and I thought this film was simply not funny and I don't see anything humorous about being arrested for drugs. At no level was this film realistic and none of the actions were logical or believable (imagine holding an outside wedding even though hurricane flags are flying -- is anyone really that stupid?) I gave this film 2 stars only because I watched it to the end -- why I have no idea because it wasn't worth it.Movie Review: disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
I love watching Sandra Bullock - in anything. But the character she played here felt like it pulled her image down and I felt sad. She was excellent as an actress here, but i just don't like the person she played. I did not like her lying about Affleck being a doctor; did not like how she took a bath oblivious to how that might affect her travel mate, or how she got mad and walked out when Affleck's wedding party saw him in the pool with her - she knew what the whole situation was; why get mad at Affleck for being caught in it? I understand she came from a hard background, and did what she felt she had to do to survive, but I like seeing her in roles where she has integrity and principles - like Miss Congeniality and Blind Side. It just was not believable that Affleck and she would fall for each other - be intrigued with each other perhaps, or learn something from each other. I did not like Affleck's character either - immature, unprincipled, impressionable, impetuous. The movie had nice aspects but nothing came together right. All the actors/actresses were excellent -I love Blythe Danner; it was not the acting; not even the directing. I guess the story was unappealing and some vague sense that this was all wrong. There was no opening of the heart, no transfomation, no beautiful life lessons learned. Lots of yelling and low life stuff and hurt feelings...I turned it off before the ending because I could not deal with the idea that one of the women would be so hurt and I did not even want to know. Wish I had not seen it.Movie Review: Typical rom-com for genre/bullock/affleck fans only
Summary: 2 Stars
If you've seen one you've seen them all. Uptight guy by chance meets quirky girl, she brings him out of his shell.
Well, I bought this for like two dollars, and maybe it was worth it. I watch it like once a year. No special features on DVD worth mentioning.
Ben Affleck is getting married, he has to fly down to the south from NY for the wedding. But things keep getting in his way. Forces of Nature. Also, he keeps running into, and can't seem to get away from, some weird chick (Bullock). Are these signs? Should he stop being so uptight, and go with this free-spirited chick? Or should he be an adult and get married and accept his Vanilla lifestyle?
The acting in this movie is "meh", meaning Sandra has the same personality that she has in every movie; and Affleck sucks, as usual. The other small parts are well done, for the most part.
The script is formulaic, and the cinematography at times is interesting. It's just another rom-com where the whacky girl brings the uptight guy out of his shell. The movie opens with a stripper scene, no nudity. There is also a pot-smoking scene in this movie. There is also a scene where Affleck strips at a gay bar. Just thought I'd throw that in, in case you're considering buying this for your teen daughter or something, and that kind of thing bothers you.
You only need to buy this is you are a rom-com fanatic, or a big fan of either Affleck or Bullock. Otherwise this is completely forgettable.
Movie Review: when nature calls, you resond with FORCE
Summary: 2 Stars
Do you remember when that woman in tie dye puts up her left leg in that one tide commercial??? That's EXACTLY what this whole movie is like. Sandra Bullock, as usual, put up a very strong performance, but Ben Affleck (who in this movie was KINDA HEAVY AND NOT TOO SWEET) was a weak point. But anyway, back to the Tide analogy. So in the commercial, the woman gives a little scream, sways back and forth, looks like she's going to be sick, and then instead pulls a rabbit out of the dryer. Just like this movie because it's not that good until the end, and then JUST LIKE A MAGIC TRICK it all works out in the end. Still overall, I would call this a weak movie that should best be avoided.... unless you use tide and love rabbits like ME!!!!!