Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
brave ending redeems otherwise standard fare, July 25, 2000
In "Forces of Nature," Ben Affleck stars as Ben, a repressed, buttoned-up stuffed shirt writer who, through a series of natural and manmade mishaps, ends up spending the several days before his impending marriage in the company of a freespirited, totally spontaneous and liberated young woman named Sarah, played by Sandra Bullock. For the vast majority of the film's running time, the screenplay follows the conventions of the opposites-attract scenario almost slavishly. The script even provides Ben's fiancee with an overly-convenient replacement in the form of a now-hunky childhood friend she has not seen in years who rekindles sparks with her on the eve of the wedding. Thus, with the troublesome fiance conveniently out of the way, the stage is set for the predictable true love romantic finale. But, damn, if the writers don't pull the rug out from under us and shatter the time-honored cliche. This is particularly surprising because, up to now, the film has exhibited no trace of iconoclasm in either its plot or character development. In fact, the screenplay is less a full-fledged narrative than a series of photographic montage sequences strung lazily together as Ben and Sarah engage in one cutesy situation and encounter after another. Thus, the unconventionality of the resolution comes as an even more stunning surprise than it otherwise might. Affleck and Bullock are very appealing as two young people who complement each other's strengths and weaknesses and who learn to offer one another valuable life lessons. "Forces of Nature" emerges as one of those rare films that is, perhaps, actually better in retrospect than in the watching.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Of *course* they're mismatched!, December 18, 2000
That's the point of this movie--2 people who shouldn't be together, but who teach each other something along the way while also learning a lot about themselves. Why is it that every time Sandra Bullock goes beyond the cutesy "While You Were Sleeping" format (which I admit to loving), she cops it? She's fantastic as the likeable Sarah who doesn't see just how likeable she is, and learns to accept herself during the journey. Ben Affleck is a stiff? He's *supposed* to be, and that adds value to the film, especially his embarrassment at having to peel 'Sarah' off the floor of a K-Mart they're sheltering in. And then there's the striptease in the gay bar--gorgeous. Obviously I was looking at it from a different angle, because I thought Bullock & Affleck had a lot of chemistry going on and played off each other nicely. Combine that with a great support cast, especially Steve Zahn as Affleck's best friend, and Moira Tierney as his fiance, and you've got a great, fun flick. It deserves 5 stars for recognizing that there will always be temptation--how we chose to deal with it is the ultimate test of character.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Did we see the same movie??, March 2, 2005
Okay, the script is not the most imaginative I've ever seen, but I like the actors (especially Ben's best man) so I was friendly with this movie for the most part. I didn't even mind the obvious holes in the plot, such as...why do these characters not have credit cards or cell phones? Or at least, why don't they use them? Oh no, much more plausible that Ben will have to strip dance in a gay bar for $150 to buy a car to drive to NC. I didn't even mind the fact that the whole "We're married and my husband's a doctor." charade was so predictable. Oh Gee, he's pretending to be a doctor and he's on a tour bus with a bunch of elderly people. D'ya think someone might have a heart attack and "Dr. Holmes" might have to step up? And uh, they're pretending to be married and Oh! surprise there's the best man and maid of honor! D'ya think they're gonna get busted?
What killed it for me was that ridiculous ending. It was obviously supposed to be a surprise (and it was) but there seemed to be no other reason for it than to pull a fast one on the audience. I felt cheated. I spent the entire movie getting emotionally involved with the relationship between Sarah and Ben, and I really cared about how they would handle things with the fiance and Sarah's little boy and all that. I cheerfully became disengaged from the relationship between Ben and Bridget, I totally believed neither one of them was ready to get married or right for each other. The film spent an inordinate amount of time showing me they're not right for each other and that this wedding was not meant to happen. RIGHT UP TO THE LAST MOMENT, we think he's breaking it off with Bridget. Instead, what the heck let's just go ahead and get married after all.
Huh? He left Sarah sitting out there waiting for him in a HURRICANE!!! after making her promise that she would still be there when he got back. This man obviously doesn't have a clue what he wants in life, and I'm expected to believe they lived happily ever after?
Not only that, but what does it teach us about taking this commitment seriously? It teaches us that if our instinct is telling us "don't do it!" and our genitals are yearning for someone else and even Mother Nature seems to be working hard to prevent this marriage, aw heck go on ahead and do it anyway. It's just marriage. It's romantic! You could get lucky and live happily ever after!
It's been my experience, when things aren't feeling just right as you approach that wedding, turn and run. The last thing you should do is close your eyes, grab your balls and take the leap.
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