...und dann kam Polly

ALONG CAME POLLY (2004) *** Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Bryan Brown, Hank Azaria, Michele Lee, Bob Dishy, Alec Baldwin, Missi Pyle. Stiller gives another of his patented hapless schmuck romantics turns as newlywed risk management assessor whose marriage is on the rocks when his wife (Messing) has an affair on their honeymoon, sending him back to NYC to assess his life and runs into former junior high friend Aniston who knocks him for a loop despite her flaky demeanor. Frequently funny and evenly paced by writer and first-time director John Hamburg the laughs come often and no thanks to Hoffman as Stiller's sloven has-been actor buddy and Baldwin as his vulgar boss. Despite the toilet humor (surprisingly in somewhat good taste if you can call it that) the film does have a heart and Stiller and Aniston make for a cute couple.

Along Came Polly is not a masterpiece in the rom-com genre, but I did enjoy it, and although the humour is sometimes gross, it does make you laugh. However I would not consider this to be one of those movies to watch again and again. A one time watch, or just once every so often is good enough.

Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) analyses risk for a living and is an extremely cautious man, with an extremely cautious life. When he marries Lisa (Debra Messing), everyone considers them the perfect couple, as they are well suited to one another. But when Lisa cheats on him on their honeymoon with their Frenchie-French scuba diving instructor Claude (Hank Azaria...BUFFED UP!), Reuben's heart breaks. He returns to New York and bumps into Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), and they begin dating, despite being very different. Polly lives in the moment, Reuben thinks ahead. Polly loves ethnic food, Reuben hates it. Polly isn't too big with long-term relationships, whereas Reuben swears by it. Nevertheless their relationships seems to work. But when Lisa comes crawling back to Reuben, he is forced to make a decision. Who will it be, the free-spirited Polly, or Lisa, with whom Reuben shares a lot in common?

I thought this movie was very cute and I liked the ferret :). Ben Stiller's performance was not outstanding in this movie but he did play Reuben well, and to be honest I cannot imagine another actor as Reuben at all. He has a very identifiable voice and the knack of just being plain adorable. I would not say he owned the movie, like he usually does, but he certainly was very good. Jennifer Aniston was also just over average. I loved her in Friends, Bruce Almighty, but sadly I don't think she did as well as she could have. But her role was smaller than I would have thought. I really liked her character Polly Prince though, and I think this was because Polly was so much like myself. The last-minute planning, being untidy, liking ethnic food, the hunting for keys...all of this screamed 'ME' all the way through, and I thought Polly was a very realistic and likable character. Hank Azaria was so cute as Claude! Okay, so he was meant to be the villain, but come on, he's BUFF. He has a six pack and the French accent was just amazing. He is really talented if he can do about 5 different voices in 'The Simpsons' and then the Frenchiest French accent ever, here. Debra Messing made a small role as Lisa but she wasn't anything great, Philip Seymour Hoffman was hilarious as Sandy Lyle. I thought the character was gross, but very likable.

Not the best from Stiller or Aniston, but still delivers laughs.

The story's not overly engaging, but for some reason Along Came Polly is fun. Ben Stiller just has that knack of being able to embarass himself and we love him for it. You can't help but laugh. But the film is worth a look for Philip Seymour Hoffman, too, as the child actor still looking for recognition -- and work. The basketball court scene is great, but the best is his performance with a community theatre's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. If you've ever been in community theatre, or you've hung out with actors, you'll appreciate this.

I saw this for free, thankfully, and wish it was better than it was, but it's really the same old stuff that movie studios seem to foist on us in the last ten years.

Ben Stiller and Jennifer Anniston play a couple who are opposites- and yet they are attracted to each other. Yes, it's an age old trope, and if that plot 'twist' doesn't take you by surprise and thrill you, the movie won't either.

Lots of sight gags and fart jokes. Halfway through the movie I began to realize that Ben Stiller really isn't that funny, but he tries VERY hard. And Jennifer Anniston really isn't that pretty, but her HAIR looks great. And Hank Azaria and Phillip Seymore Hoffman must have got paid a great deal of money to be in this kind of average ho-hum movie, I've come to expect more from them.

What was interesting was that I saw this after I saw American Splendor, which is a truly funny and original movie- and I compared the two in my head, and found myself wishing that the movie executives would be forced to sit through those two movies back to back- perhaps that would knock some sense into them and they'd start making better movies with unknowns rather than this formulaic stuff that plays best on airplanes.

Ben and Jen do their best to overcome an unengaging story and a lack of forward momentum in Along Came Polly. There are some decent laughs throughout, but nothing that stuck with me after the credits. It's not awful by any means, but it's pretty forgettable.