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Jeff's Review of:

Stuck on You, &
Something's Gotta Give

Jan. 19, 2004

Stuck on You
2003, 1 hr 45 min., Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, and some language. Dir: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly. Cast: Matt Damon (Bo), Greg Kinnear (Walt), Eva Mendes (April), Wen Yann Shih (May).

I've never been the biggest Farrelly brothers fan because toilet humor isn't appealing to me. Here, though, the Farrellys managed to convince two great talents, Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear, to work together, literally attached at the hip, and that setup alone is hilarious.

I think it helps tremendously that they used two guys you aren't accustomed to seeing in comedies such as this, as opposed to say, funny guys like Jim Carrey (Me, Myself & Irene), Jack Black (Shallow Hal) and Ben Stiller (There's Something About Mary).

During a season full of "serious" Oscar fare, Stuck on You isn't a bad alternative if you're looking for less heavy and more ha-ha.

More so than any of the Farrelly flicks is an underlying sweetness to compliment the physical comedy. More important, there is nary a bit of the raunchy, "gross-out" shtick that permeate other Farrelly productions.

Damon and Kinnear are conjoined twins, sharing a liver. They don't, however, share a personality, each with wholly different interests, acting at times as if they aren't even attached. Actor Kinnear's a casanova, athlete Damon a casa-never in his pursuit of the opposite sex, but there's hope for both in Los Angeles and outside their comfort zone of Martha's Vineyard. Fish-out-of-water hijinks ensue.

It's even funnier since they're Siamese (sorry, American) twins, and don't we all enjoy a good laugh at the physically 'gifted?' No, actually, it's funny that in a land of freaks and diversity, seeing Damon and Kinnear as the normal folks is especially ironic, and I guarantee we all enjoy a good laugh at the expense of those in the land of fruits and nuts of California.

If you were trying to analyze the movie, you might try to sound smart by comparing the bond between Kinnear and Damon with that of the Farrellys themselves. I didn't come up with this, being that I'm not one of those analytical or in-the-know critics, and am just passing it on from one of my network's movie gurus.

Stuck on You isn't constantly funny, but there are hilarious bits every little while that are gutbusters, especially in cameos from Cher and Meryl Streep.

One minor flaw is that it's not a serious film, so the nearly two hour running time could be shaved by 15 minutes with no damage. No worries for the most part, since Stuck On You is joined at the funny bone for a good time.

The verdict:

Something's Gotta Give
2003, 1 hr 55 min., Rated PG-13 for sexual content, brief nudity and strong language. Dir: Nancy Meyers. Cast: Jack Nicholson (Harry Sanborn), Diane Keaton (Erica Barry), Frances McDormand (Zoe Barry), Keanu Reeves (Dr. Julian Mercer), Amanda Peet (Marin).

�Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee�..�

Would someone turn off that dang Emergency Chick Flick Alert siren?

�Eeeeee�� *click*

Thanks.

Anyway, I was going to say, Something�s Gotta Give is nearly a perfect film for the adult world of both sexes, made all the better, John Mellencamp-speak, as a little ditty, 'bout Jack and Diane, two American seniors doing the best that they can.

Written and directed by Nancy Meyers, who hasn't helmed a film since What Women Want a few years back, another film exploring if men know what women want, and do women know what women want?

Keaton is fabulous, and the real winner of the movie. You've seen cute shmuck Nicholson before, which means the uptight, neurotic but completely in control yet emotional Keaton rules the show. She can handle "almost" any situation, the almost revolving around love issues.

Diane is a basket case, but wants her pain! Her message is figuring that to have the greatest time in your life, sometimes you have to experience the worst. Love, joy, heartbreak and pain are all intertwined. It helps that she's a playwright, and can utilize their goofy yet endearing relationship and her runaway emotions for her craft, at Jack's expense, of course.

But hey, shmucks are people, too, am I right? Jack even acts well with his bare feet seen under an open fridge door, although he accomplishes more in his growth from chick magnet for women in their twenties, to chick magnet for those in their fifties.

Finally, a movie that recognizes men can be pieces of meat, too, dagnabbit! Forget my mind, and check out my body, you hot dames! Sure, Jack is a womanizer, and he always tells one version of the truth (even though "some" females - OK, all of them - would try to convince him that truth doesn't have versions).

Equally so, all the women (Keaton, her daughter played by Amanda Peat and Keaton�s sister played by Frances McDormand) are so very dreamy around Dr. Keanu "Whoa" Reeves, who hits on older women when not saving the world from machines.

As if to prove the idea of equality among sexual attraction, we get glimpses of Peet in her undies, Nicholson�s rear out of a hospital gown, and near full-frontal of a freaked-out Keaton. Yep, she�s still got it. But no, it's not entirely even since Reeves doesn't get nekkid.

Sweet, smart and funny, the best scenes are with Jack and Diane working their magic, two Hollywood veterans I never tire of, revealing vulnerabilities a tad at a time. There are plenty of 'becoming old' jokes, but it's also clear that the sweetest love is between those a wee bit older than I am (in this case, more than twice as much, but I'm still a young whippersnapper, which I guess is the point).

Yes, it's all lovey-dovey mumbo-jumbo about "real life," but it works and it feels absolutely right amid all the laughs.

The verdict:



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