At the Movies with Fatwayne

What made this movie for me was it’s star, Sandra Bullock. I happen to like her looks, personality and her ability to pick roles that highlight her abilities. I was a little worried when I didn’t get to hear her famous “snort” but alas, there it was at the end just as the screen faded to black! I did not think that this film was up to par with “The Proposal” but it was entertaining and definitely worth a trip to the theater.

Bullock plays Mary Horowitz who creates crossword puzzles for a living. She leads a rather lonely life, temporarily living with her parents while her place is being fumugated. She has no friends or love interests because of her quirky personality. All that her life consists of is constructing puzzles for the local newspaper.

In their attempt to move Mary out of her rut, her parents fix her up on a blind date. Her innitial response is to break the date but she ultimately gives in to pressure from her folks. It turns out that she is glad that she kept the date once she sees Steve (Bradley Cooper). Mary falls head over heels in love with him at first sight. Steve, on the other hand, after his initial attraction, comes to believe that Mary is some kind of unbalanced nut case.

In her post date euphoria, Mary creates a crossword puzzle that is all about Steve and only Steve. How tall is he, the color of his eyes and what does he smell like are examples of the questions for this puzzle which she publishes in the newspaper. It is a gigantic failure which generates many complaints to the paper with the result being Mary’s loss of her job.

During their brief date, Steve mentioned that Mary should come around with him while he films his stories (he is a TV news cameraman). This suggestion came in the throes of passion and before Steve realized how strange Mary really was. He is just happy to escape from their date and get on with his life. Mary, on the other hand, thinks that Steve likes her and would love to have her around as he covers his news stories. Since she is now unemployed, she can take the time to pursue Steve. As she keeps showing up at his work sites, Steve starts to think that Mary is stalking him and might do him harm.

The news man that Steve works with is Hartman Hughes (Thomas Hayden Church) who finds all of this funny and is instrumental in tipping Mary off as to where they will be covering their next story. Mary eventually gets herself into a very dangerous situation when she falls into a mine tunnel from which a group of deaf children had just been rescued.

The rest of the movie concerns itself with several of the characters redeeming themselves from their previous bad behavior. During her ordeal in the mine shaft, Mary finds a new confidence in herself and discovers what is really important in her life. It is a feel good movie with an ending that will not disappoint.  Everyone who had been affected by Mary is pulling for her survival since by meeting her, their lives have been changed for the better.

Sandra Bullock is over the top in her protrayal of Mary. She wears knee high bright red boots and clunks around in them. She has trouble keeping her mouth shut for even a second and is like a fountain spurting out her little pearls of knowledge. Despite this and her general overall wackiness, she steals the show with her likeability and the fact that the camera seems to love her. Co-star Thomas Hayden Church lends some self serving humor to the story and is fun to watch as he mugs his way through the film. Bradley Cooper as Steve is also good as he tries to avoid Mary at all costs, even with ridiculous disguises.

There are a lot of bad reviews circulating about this movie but I am willing to go against the tide. I enjoyed it! What more can one ask for?

Rated – PG13 -

Fatwayne’s rating  –  -