I don't understand the low reviews here for this fine work by Anthony Minghella. The only weak point in the film for me was Annbella Sciora. Matt Dillon was perfect as the working class hero and his boys were all fun to watch. Luis Guzmán was brilliant as always although he was a minor player, as always. This was the first time I saw Mary-Louise Parker and she was perfect as the great girl but taken on the rebound. I love the fact that they all have regular jobs with a working class dream of buying a bowling alley. Why is it so hard for Hollywood to portray middle and lower middle class people in films? It's sort of a dumb premise but the film goes way beyond that initial tagline.
Compare this to most rom-coms with their completely moronic premises and nothing-to-say stories, and I think this little movie fares well. Even the music is cute. The dumb part about trying to fix up his ex so that he doesn't have to pay alimony should have been scrapped because the film didn't need it, and in its defense, they didn't take it too far.
Compare this to most rom-coms with their completely moronic premises and nothing-to-say stories, and I think this little movie fares well. Even the music is cute. The dumb part about trying to fix up his ex so that he doesn't have to pay alimony should have been scrapped because the film didn't need it, and in its defense, they didn't take it too far.