Along Came Polly
Life is risk, people take risks everyday. We drive a car, we use public places and we consume unhealthy foods. For risk assesor Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) everything is risky, but he calculates everything, what are the chances of getting hit by car, what are chances of falling into a subway grate, what are the chances of his client dying in the near future are calculations that Feffer must make in his everyday life.
Written and Directed by John Hamburg, "Along Came Polly" is the first funny comedy of the new year. There are indeed many funny moments in "Along Came Polly" that I found very funny, Hamburg directs "Polly" in the same way that The Farrelly Brothers make their films, with gross out humor. There is the obvious scene in the bathroom, the very disgusting scene on the basketball court and the gross out seen in the men's room with Alec Baldwin. For the most part "Along Came Polly" works best as comedy instead of a romantic movie. It is obvious how the film is going to turn out but getting there is the best part.
The story is about a man who's afraid of risk (Stiller), but makes a living analyzing risk ends up getting involved in a risky romance (Aniston) (IMDB). The characters are just interesting enough that you actually like them, there were a couple of moments where I wanted to tell the girl who cheats on Stiller at the begining to get lost. Ben Stiller and TV's "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston are good in their roles. The next big female superstar other than Julia Roberts will be Jennifer Aniston and she also is a pretty decent actress as well. "Along Came Polly" also has excellent supporting cast that add into the fun, there is Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin and the dangerous skydiving Australian Bryan Brown in a very funny role.
"Along Came Polly" only suffers one minor problem that I could live with and it is that there is no way we believe that Stiller and Aniston love each other, for the most part there is no chemistry between the two and how she can stand Stiller who is such as dweeb is beyond me. But it is entertainment.
For those of you who liked "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" you will like "Along Came Polly". "Polly" offers something different than the big action flicks like "Lord of the Rings" or the sentimental "Big Fish", there are a generous amount of laughs throughout and there is a big shocker about 50 minutes into the movie to keep you interested and the moral of the film is that you should take risks in your life. For everyone else who can stand senseless comedies or those of you who think Jennifer Aniston can't act, take a risk and go see "Along Came Polly" as you might actually like it.
Runtime: 90mins
Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
Universal Pictures Releasing
Rated: PG-13.
