Am I Missing Something?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Max (James Le Gros) and Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals) have been living together for some time. One day, Max offers Elizabeth a small jewelry box and she ecstatically believes he is proposing to her. However, inside the box is a glorified toothpick that Max contends will be a lucrative business idea. Elizabeth is deeply hurt and the couple begin pulling apart. Waiting to pounce on Max is a co-worker named Lena (Drew Barrymore), who lost her heart to him many moons ago at the introspective movie theater where they both toil. Elizabeth, too, finds solace with an attractive man, Henry (Jon Stewart) after meeting him late one night at a coffee shop. Yet, Max still obsesses about Elizabeth, seeing her face in all of the pot-boiling films he shows at the cinema. Is there a major breakup coming or a reconciliation? This is a wonderfully different romantic drama, with attractive players and an offbeat charm. Beals and Barrymore are both talented and very lovely in their roles, with Jennifer dressing simply but elegantly and Barrymore sporting one outrageous but arresting outfit after another. Le Gros is also fine as the mixed-up boyfriend while Stewart is a funny and handsome suitor for Beals. The scenery in and around Manhattan is nice and the production values very fine. Also interesting are the movie's technical attributes, which includes shooting scenes from different angles and substituting the faces of Beals and company in the old black and white films of long ago. Moreover, the script is quite inventive and original. In short, if your wish is for a nice romantic drama, with comedy and feeling, try this sweet but obscure film. After a viewing, you will definitely be thinking your made the right choice.

I had the displeasure of watching this movie last night, and I must say it was pretty good up until a certain point.I must say that the plot was good and the structure was interesting and kept me watching instead of just turning off the TV.The thing that irritated me about this movie was it's ending. In the end, the husband realizes everything that he has done wrong in his relationship, and the cheating wife gets off without punishment. The problem is, the husband was paranoid about his wife cheating. He was paranoid about him cheating, so she cheats. And apparently its his fault. This ending ruins the entire movie. The entire thing, it was based on this guy catching his cheating wife, and hopefully making her feel horrible so she'd kill herself. Thats the main reason I wanted to see the end, I wanted her to get her come-uppance. Instead she gets to go off happy with her boy-toy, and he gets stuck with a moronic Drew Barrymore, with an idiotic unfunny scene with fortune cookies.Does anyone else see this as a major plot flaw? Am I the only one who hates it when a movie is seen as a happy ending by those who made it, those who have cheated before, and hated by those who have been cheated on?I want to see a movie where the cheating bitch gets killed for cheating. Secret Window, thats the sort of ending that should have been on this crap-fest.

This is a cute, quirky little film, that has some pretty darned good acting performances in it. Drew Barrymore was good, and beautiful, as was Jennifer Beals. I wasn't very familiar with James LeGros, but he almost stole the show. Excellent characterization of "Max". I have to say that I did enjoy the basic device of the film, the use of different point of view characters, but the director eventually got too cutesy and that did detract from the movie. Grade: B-

I just saw the movie on cable and I had a pleasant time. No it is not a movie I would go out of my way to watch again, but definitely not the worst in my list. True, the plot was very common and only the narration was short of inventive, but all in all not a bad movie. It is just that labeling it "romantic comedy" is misleading, it might be light but not a comedy. What prompted me to write about it was Jennifer Beals whom I think stole the show. I hadn't seen her since Flashdance (yuck) and I think she matured nicely. I might look for other recent movies that she played in.