Product Details

• Actors: Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natasha Henstridge, Edward Edwards, Jennifer Grey
• Directors: Don Roos
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Original recording reissued, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Miramax
• VHS Release Date: September 11, 2001
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005LOKL
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,242 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Bounce has all the deft charm and breezy good looks you'd expect from a romance starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow, but under the surface beats the poisoned heart of an independent film just going through the motions. Affleck plays Buddy Amaral, a successful ad exec with an empty life. In a Chicago airport, he meets Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn), a failed playwright going home to his family and a corrupt job as a TV writer. Buddy, angling for a one-night stand with a fellow passenger, gives Greg his ticket, but feels bad when he discovers the plane crashed and the guy died. He feels so bad, in fact, that when he gets out of rehab a year or so later, he decides to give the guy's widow, real estate agent Abby (Paltrow), commission on the sale of a building for his business, a sale she's not qualified to make. They start dating. She quickly forgets her initial impression of him as a creepy stalker. Near the end of the movie, she finds out her first impression was correct and she dumps him. It's the right decision but one that the movie won't allow her to make. Instead her best friend and her kids convince her to stay with the guy. Eeeesh. Affleck is good at playing privileged and shallow, Paltrow does what she can with the prepackaged grief of a widow, Joe Morton has very little to do as Buddy's business partner (but he does it well), and Johnny Galecki shines in a very small part as Buddy's assistant. Good performances in a rather creepy film by the guy who made The Opposite of Sex. --Andy Spletzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SOMBER ROMANCE, March 12, 2001

By	Nick Gonnella - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Bounce (DVD)

While waiting in an airport, Buddy Amarol (Ben Affleck) meets Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn) a writer. The two men get to talking, and it becomes clear, Greg, wants to get home to see his wife, and kids. Buddy, scheming to have a one-night-stand with Mimi (Natasha Henstridge), also hanging around the airport, decides to be a "nice" guy, and give his plane ticket to Greg.

Buddy is stirred out of sleep by sirens, he quickly turns on the television to find out the plane he was supposed to be on has crashed, killing all the passengers.

Tormented by what has happened, Buddy turns to booze, eventually landing him in rehab. Once sober, Buddy sets out to meet Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow), the wife of Greg. After a brief stalking period, the two actually talk and begin falling in love. But all is not so perfect for this couple, as a videotape of Buddy and Greg at the airport surfaces, throwing Abby into a state of wonder, and confusion.

"Bounce" is not the cute movie the trailer's depicted, but actually a dark love story, that is somewhat creepy. Affleck, and Paltrow are likable in their roles, and they do work well together, but it isn't enough to carry the whole movie.

If there is nothing else to watch, "Bounce" will pass the time, but many will come away from the film disappointed.

Nick Gonnella

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ben And Gwyneth Get It Right, November 22, 2000

By	Reviewer - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

A tragic brush with fate sets a man on a road to self awareness and discovery that drastically alters his perception of himself and the world in which he lives, in "Bounce," directed by Don Roos and starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. In Chicago on business, waiting at the airport for a flight back to L.A. just before Christmas, Advertising Exec/salesman Buddy Amaral (Affleck) gives his ticket to a man he's met that evening in the lounge, Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn), who's just been bumped from his flight. A writer, in Chicago for the opening (and sadly, the closing) of one of his plays, Janello has a wife, Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow), and two kids waiting for him at home, and is grateful for Buddy's apparent random act of kindness. Far from being a benevolent gesture, however, Buddy's motives are purely self-serving, and have to do with another passenger, Mimi (Natasha Henstridge), who's also been bumped and who has been given accommodations for the night by the airline. It seems that everything has worked out well for all concerned, until later that night, when the news breaks that the plane carrying Janello has crashed somewhere in Kansas, and that there are no survivors. For Buddy, who should have been on that plane, it's an awakening; and for probably the first time in his life he is forced to look inward. And he doesn't like what he finds. His confrontation with the demons within ultimately leads him to Abby Janello, and another unexpected turn in his life. Director Roos has created a richly textured drama that is both captivating and credible; the story is well written (by Roos), developed with precision and expertly paced, which makes it all entirely believable. Much more than a simple love story, it's about a man forced to confront what he sees in the mirror, and how he must cope with what he finds there; and about a young woman with two children, suddenly widowed, who must come to grips with an unsure future while dealing with such a devastating loss. What follows is an examination of a relationship forged by fate and born of need; a fragile, precarious situation at best. And what makes this film so good is the gradual way the relationship between Buddy and Abby is formed, neither hurried nor forced, with a couple of truly poignant moments along the way. And it all rings true, courtesy of a great script, Roos directing and the engaging performances of the stars. Affleck brings real depth to his character, and most importantly, a sense of true sincerity that makes him real; he illuminates Buddy's imperfections to perfection. And Paltrow is absolutely disarming as Abby; gentle and vulnerable to a fault, winsomely charming, and beautifully played. Also, there is a definite chemistry between Paltrow and Affleck that cannot be denied. The supporting cast includes Jennifer Grey (Mrs. Guererro), Joe Morton (Jim), David Paymer (Prosecution Lawyer), Alex D. Linz (Scott) and Johnny Galecki. A touching, memorable movie, "Bounce" is a reflection on the journey of life we all must take; and it makes you realize that it's something you have to work at. It's a film that makes you stop to reconsider choices made in the past, while recognizing that in the end, perhaps love and happiness is the bonus for doing it right.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Would you fly on an outfit named "Infinity Air"?, March 28, 2008

By	Hinkle Goldfarb (R.R. 1 Highway 162, Butte City, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bounce (DVD)

Why not just go ahead and call it "Crash and Burn Air"? That would fit right in with the general quality of the plot and the writing (not to mention the male lead's acting).

Plot and writing. Look, as I've mentioned before in a different context, one coincidence is a great plot device: a young man sees a woman about to throw herself into the ocean and saves her; a cop sees a murder suspect walking down the street; an Army private who later becomes an officer finds out his first sergeant is his old drill instructor. Great. Pile on the coincidences though, and what you have is nothing more than lazy and unfocused writing. Such is the case here. SPOILER ALERT. Affleck's Buddy Amaral not only switches places with Gwyneth Paltrow's loving husband* on a flight that crashes, but he's involved in the airline's business AND there just happens to be a video of Amaral with the loving husband that just happens to appear at a crucial moment.

This movie does not do service to the "from airplane disaster to romance" genre. About the only thing to its credit is the unlikely achievement of making "Random Hearts" look good.

* I'm assuming Greg Janello is a loving husband. If you were married to Gwyneth Paltrow, wouldn't *you* be loving?