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Along Came Polly (Widescreen Edition)

Along Came Polly (Widescreen Edition)

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: TYPICAL BY-THE-BOOK ROMANTIC "COMEDY"
Review: Wow...I really can't believe the glowing reviews for this flick. It's gotta be the movie studio folks, because this movie is nowhere near this superb or delightful. "ALONG CAME POLLY" is your typical romantic comedy, so bland and predictable. Yes, there are a couple of laugh-out-loud moments, but the rest of the movie simply plods along its cookie-cutter script. Ben Stiller plays his usual awkward self, Jennifer Aniston is pretty and has a nice screen presence but doesn't stretch her acting chops on this one, an incredibly buffed Hank Azaria is passable (though the outrageously fake French accent has to go) and Debra Messing reprises her "Will & Grace" persona in a different setting. I must agree with the other reviewers, however, that the ferret does indeed steal the show and deserved to get MUCH more screen time than it did. A host of B-grade stars in cameos make for some interesting viewing, but don't add much to the mix. Being that this is a Ben Stiller movie, there's the usual plethora of crude bodily function gags with A LOT of emphasis on flatulence. Very juvenile.

Do yourself a favor and see another film.

Typical Hollywood fluff: all style, no substance.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The FERRET steals the show!
Review: This is a very good movie -- entertaining and fun, along the lines of Meet the Parents -- and best of all, it has a positive view of a ferret as a pet. Ferrets are adorable, loveable and smart -- and Along Came Polly shows that! Stiller and Aniston and Hoffman are all excellent, as well!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good 'ol Ben Stiller Comedy
Review: Ben Stiller plays risk-averse Reuben Feffer, whose best-laid plans for life and love careen wildly off track when his bride dumps him on their honeymoon for a muscle-bound scuba instructor. Stunned, humiliated and in the grip of acute indigestion, Reuben plans to play it safer than ever. But a chance encounter with an adventure-craving, childhood friend named Polly (Jennifer Aniston) shoots him into a whirlwind of extreme sports, spicy foods, ferrets, salsa dancing and living in the moment. Its a very funny and well made movie :)

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: That ferret is so cute
Review: Ben Stiler and the ferret, they are lovely!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A very disappointing romantic comedy given the great cast
Review: It would be easy to say that "Along Came Polly" is yet another movie where pretty much all the good parts are in the trailer, but this film has more serious problems that account for it being one of the more disappointing romantic comedies to come along in a while. You look at the cast with Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, and Hank Azaria and you have to have expectations of a decent film, but this 2004 comedy really falls short.

As you know from the trailer, Stiller's character is a risk-accessor named Reuben Feiffer who has problems with keeping clean in a sweat, germ infested world. Actually, the character is not as pathological as he appears in the trailer because he also has Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which is a legitimate concern and a good reason not to eat spicy North African food. Aniston is Polly Prince, a free spirit, who went to middle school (or junior high) with Reuben way back when and when they meet again he decides that asking her out on a date would be just the thing to get him out of the dumps. You see, the movie opens with Reuben getting married to the girl of his dreams (and computer analysis), Lisa (Debra Messing) but the honeymoon hits a major speed bump within 48 hours.

This is certainly a good year for ferrets this year, relatively speaking, with the blind ferret in this film and the dead ferrets that Hermoine feeds to the hippogryph in the new Harry Potter movie. But at least the blind ferret has an excuse for the action of his character, which is something that is missing on Polly's part. We understand why Reuben likes Polly. She is cute and likes salsa dancing. But why Polly like Reuben is never really explained, although a friend thinks that pity is a principle component. There needs to be more going on besides being the stars of the picture to justify the romance and more than an ability to mentally count to fifty under the right circumstances. Reuben's big moment in which he surprises Polly is not going to provide retroactive justification for her interest.

Writer-director John Hamburg could fix things so that there was some reason for the relationship, but his primary objective in this film is to do things to Ben Stiller (who gets bonus points along with Hank Azaria for their buffed body work). Meanwhile he has Jennifer Aniston running around and apparently has no significant ideas as to what do with her so that the romantic part of the film's equation is within sight of the comedy part. The woman can do more than stand there and look cute but apparently nobody making movies in Hollywood has been able to come up with a major league idea for using her talents. Aniston was pretty good in "The Good Girl," and has some nice moments in "Rock Star" and "Bruce Almighty," not to mention "The Iron Giant," but we are still waiting for somebody to come up with a really great romantic comedy that focuses on her as the lead character.

The final sign that "Along Came Polly" has bit time problems is when the most tender moment in the film comes between Reuben and his best friend, the forgetten child actor and bagpipe player, Sandy Lyle (Hoffman). For that matter, when Reuben's father (Bob Dishy) suddenly breaks his silence to offer sage advice, why on earth does he not give it to his son? Just like too many parts of this movie, it is close but no cigar. The idea of a guy afraid to take risks who falls for a girl who is unwilling to commit is a solid enough idea (it has worked before), but it requires the romance to be as important as the comedy, and Hamburg is out of his depth in that half of the equation.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Awlful
Review: This may be the worst movie in the history of the world. Bring it on was better than this. I am sorry but this movie stunk. Extremely boring and anoyying.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Along Came Polly
Review: Along Came Polly has a cast to die for but the lead characters relationship is to hard to believe and the nasty humor is annoying and not extremely funny.This movie wasn't completely terrible but it was kind of a waste of time.The acting is pretty good.The dialogue mostly consists of raunchy humor or potty jokes.The The characters are likeable though.Overall, though, the plot just isn't strong enough for a rememorable and fun movie.If you like the cast then you will want to see this, but trust me it is just a little less than average when it comes to these kind of movies.This is pretty much a regular example of John Hamburg material.Only watch if you have time.Reuben, an overanxious insurance risk analyst (Stiller), weighs his every action by assessing pros and cons. He finds himself dumped on his honeymoon by fickle wife Lisa (Debra Messing) who runs off with Jacques, a nudist scuba instructor (Hank Azaria). A few days later, Reuben is back in New York at a pretentious gallery opening, wondering why he's bothering to test the waters so soon, when along comes Polly Price (Jennifer Aniston), a quirky, worldly, adventurous soul, whose only flaw appears to be a generalized lack of commitment. The formerly germ-obsessed, controlling Reuben is transformed by Polly's free spirit, her predilection for spicy food, and her pet ferret. Her love of salsa dancing makes him jealous and painfully uncomfortable. But his heart is aflame.

"Stiller and Aniston are trapped in the constrictive material, trying to make the best of a crummy, formulaic situation. "
-- Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: This movie pretty much follows the same pattern as "There Is Something about Mary". We've seen it before and we've seen it much better. The attempt to keep it within PG-13 bounds probably hurt, as well. Once you get into R territory, all bets are off, and perhaps then this movie could have gone all out.

The supporting cast is the best thing about the movie. Alec Baldwin and Phillip Seymour Hoffman bring the best parts for this movie. This movie isn't as good as "There Is Something about Mary", not even close. I'd almost put this film into the "chick flick" genre, but it's not bad enough to do this. Although it follows the usual pattern (guy meets girl, they get into a fight, they make up again, the end).

Anyway, if your a fan of Jennifer Aniston, you will appreciate this movie (i guarantee). If you want some good laughs without too much thinking, get this, or better, "There is Something about Mary".

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This movie sharted!
Review: This movie was a complete waste of my time. There were some funny scenes but I never bought Polly being attracted to Reuben. The funniest scene was the basketball pickup game, with the hairy guy sweating all over Reuben's face, and Philip Seymour Hoffman saying "I sharted" and then walked away funny. I liked Jennifer Aniston, too. I agree with my other half that she reminded me very much of Ellen in her early days. Hank Azaria looks great & has a great rear end, but Along Came Polly is just too stupid most of the time. Skip it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Here Comes Ben Again!
Review: These days, it's almost impossible not to come across Ben Stiller's movie. Some of the movies he starred in were duds such as the forgettable Zoolander. However, he redeemed himself in Meet the Parents, There's Something About Mary, The Royal Tennabaum. Whereas Adam Sandler was the sort of character that lived on the edge & quite overbearing sometimes, Ben Stiller always played the stereotype victim characters that we would vouch for. It's commendable that he would do magic to lacklustre scripts. Despite that Along Came Polly was a predictable movie, Ben Stiller & Jennifer Aniston pulled the movie through. They simply shined. Ain't that amazing they could make a mediocre movie enjoyable to watch? Perhaps, people undermined the depth of these comedians but in actuality, Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston have had depths. Not forgetting to mention the wonderful Debra Messing (Grace from "Will & Grace"), the memorable Hank Azaria ("Abu" from the Simpsons) with his hilarious French accent, Hoffman (from "Drunk Punch Love", "Boogie Night", "Talented Mr Ripley"), Bryan Brown (playing an Aussie!), Alec Baldwin (trying to be funny (?)) . This movie is patchy but amusing to watch. Not entirely forgettable but if you were a fan of Ben Stiller, don't miss this one!


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