Forces of Nature: Singing in the Rain

Rated PG13

Thanks to Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock — the real forces behind Forces of Nature — the movie almost succeeds in spite of itself.

Woody Allen, who’s probably written more successful comedies than anyone alive today, never violates “the 90-minute rule.” Aspiring screenwriters should take that rule to heart. As Forces of Nature proves once again, very, very few films can sustain a joke or good feeling beyond 90 minutes.

Written by Marc Lawrence and Directed by Bronwen Hughes, this 102-minute romantic comedy violates the 90-minute rule by 12 minutes, and it shows. As a romantic roadtrip/buddy flick, Forces of Nature doesn’t know when to quit, and in the process comes dangerously close to wearing out the welcome generated by its stars.

This would-be romp pairs Ben Affleck as Ben, a nervous groom-to-be, with Sandra Bullock as Sara, a heavily made-up free spirit. The two meet cute — a near fatal air crash — and decide to make their way from New York to Savannah together by car rather than getting back on the plane. As bickering, mismatched traveling companions, the two encounter one catastrophe after another (thunderstorms, hail storms, criminals, nosy senior citizens) in the most bizarre places (K-Mart, amusement parks and motel rooms). The more time the couple spends together, the more Ben questions marriage in general and his upcoming wedding to Bridget (Maura Tierney) in particular.

The early scenes between Bullock and Affleck really sparkle. The two generate great chemistry and show real talent for romantic comedy. Affleck possesses a very natural good guy demeanor — one that can’t be faked — and it never works more in his favor than in his heavily publicized strip tease. You can’t help but wonder what would have happened to this movie if it gave Affleck the chance to really break loose. Bullock, though not quite as lovable as Hollywood wants us to believe, manages to give Sara just the right amount of spunk and vulnerability. Bullock hasn’t been this appealing in a long time.

But the movie’s edge derives from its secondary cast. Potentially jilted bride Maura Tierney tickles the funny bone so much you can’t help but like her — which makes it hard to root for a Ben/Sara matchup. As much as you like Sara, do you really want Ben to dump the personable, faithful Bridget? Veteran actors Ronny Cox and Blythe Danner, as Bridget’s battling Southern parents, almost steal the movie. And the late David Strickland shows how very much potential he had as Bridget’s former and hopeful future suitor.

But the movie meanders to its conclusion, almost as if it simply ran out of steam. You leave the theater wondering…huh? The rule of thumb is that if a film starts out slow, but shines in the end, the audience will remember the good time it had. Forces of Nature does just the opposite. To begin with such promise and fritter it away constitutes a crime against nature.

Joan Fuchsman