En bout de ligne

This is a great movie for all ages. It is funny, sweet and holds your attention from beginning to end. Besides just being lots of fun it is great seeing Lance and Joey having so much fun acting. I think parents will like this movie as much as kids. I have been lucky enough to see it and can't wait to go again and again and buy the sound track.

On the Line is the greatest film to star a musician since Blue Hawaii. Don't remember Blue Hawaii? Exactly. This film may not revolve around the music of the insanely popular boy band, but it caters to the same audience. In this story, Lance Bass (of 'N Synch) is Kevin Gibbons, the chronically date-impaired ex-rocker turned corporate adman. Kevin is now mocked daily by his friends for being the guy who blew it with his dream girl back in high school. Kevin, now 27, is about to get another chance. Kevin meets Abbey (Emmanuelle Chriqui, Detroit Rock City) on the `L' train in Chicago, and they mesh like... two cute people meshing. Kevin, the dweeb, fails to get her name and number before they part. It's an abused plot of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy comes up with ludicrous way of winning girl back.

After Kevin's slip-up on the L, he decides to flyer the city of Chicago. A newspaper gets a hold of Kevin's story, and takes an active role in spreading to the city just how pathetic Kevin is. It works magnificently and, soon enough, Kevin is inundated by calls from girls claiming to be `the one.' Meanwhile, at work, Kevin is under the gun for a Reebok ad that his partner steals the credit for. A slip-up leads to a tongue lashing from his boss Higgins (Dave Foley, News Radio). While responding to Higgins' rant, Kevin accidentally gives his friends the go ahead to turn his love life into a dating game. Kevin's friends Rod (Joey Fatone), Eric and Randy proceed to take the impostor L train girls out on dates, most of which end catastrophically.

New acting talents Gregory Qaiyum and James Bulliard play Eric and Randy, the ghetto boy and the preppy kid. Qaiyum (who prefers to be called GQ), gives the most enthusiastic performance of the crew, but loses points for interrupting Al Green in the credits. Bulliard, who looks like James Spader's younger Swiss brother, loses no points for not singing, but fails to make anything of his deadpan dialogue. Joey Fatone lends a strong comedic presence to the film, and sings some decent rock covers too. Bass' character doesn't have the slapstick to fall back on, and the character of Kevin often falls flat. It's the willingness of the 'N Synch boys to poke fun at themselves that makes On the Line bearable to watch. Rod falls a lot, and Kevin leads such an embarrassing life that you can't help but smile. If they had been playing athletes or Casanovas, they would have seemed laughably out of place.

With a PG rating, we know what kind of crowd this film was written for. When asked about his predictions for the public's response Bass states, `oh yeah, this is going to be known as the 'N Synch movie,' but he feels that it's not just for the fans. In fact, 'N Synch fans may be disappointed to discover that only two songs on the soundtrack are by the boy band. Relief may come from the other contributing musicians, which include BBMak, Vitamin C, Al Green, and Richie Sambora. A new solo song by Fatone, Ready to Fall, is also on the soundtrack. On the Line is a film starring musicians, who play characters that used to be musicians. While this may have been a safe play for the singers' movie debut, they didn't try very hard to avoid being typecast. This movie was built around the music.

You've got to give Bass and Fatone a hand for their diligence. On the Line was filmed in both Chicago and Toronto, during the recording of their platinum album Celebrity. And it only took 32 days, which is the sign of a truly efficient filmmaker. As a producer, Bass roped in a few special guests. And yes, in case you were wondering, Chris and Justin have a cameo. Their ability to portray effeminate hairdressers is uncanny. As for JC, he must have been busy working on a solo album. That's not inside news, just wishful thinking. Directed by Eric Bross. Rated PG for fart jokes and beer.

On The Line is a sweet and innocent movie for little girls or those who love cute little romances. Lance Bass from Nsync fame is quite good as the lead who always chokes up around the opposite sex and in the workplace. I was pleasantly surprised with this movie. It has an innocent quality that is not found in many films anymore. On The Line isn't Oscar winning but it is a movie that should appeal to those who love the innocence of young love.

Promising set up, attractive (but not TOO attractive) leads, a solid supporting cast, excellent technical work. . . . all with a screenplay that is made out of just a bit too much fluff.

Fluff is good. Too much fluff is bad. Kevin lacks the "un nice" undertones to be believable-- even the best among us have some real flaws, not just a pseudo flaw of "choking" when dealing with the opposite sex. Kevin is 99% pure fluff, and the attempt to make the character into a creative person fails because a creative person is more multi dimensional than pretty boy Kevin. His friends are also painted in one or two dimensional strokes, and the Abbey role winds up painted so shallowly that it is difficult to conceive of why someone, even those as shallow as her fiancee and Kevin, would pursue her.

Their instant connection soul mate behavior simply does not have enough questioning, enough basis for existing. Even a child's balloon has more substance than what they created in their first meeting. There has to be more than a smile, a list of presidents, or a love for a baseball team to make a connection.

When it is finally revealed to him that he was betrayed, Kevin becomes violent toward a friend-- without really exhibiting anger, a perfunctory physical attack coming short of a playground fight. The entire movie was surface gloss and fluff, but with the promise of meat and potatoes.

I wanted to believe.

Wish I could have.

On the Line is an okay movie that is somewhat entertaining and enjoyable to watch. Lance Bass and Joey Fatone (two of the guys from N'Sync) did a fairly well job for one of their first theatrical films. Also Emmanuelle Chrique did good in her role as Abbey. The movie did get a little boring at times, but it also had some humor and laughs. On the Line is an okay movie that is an enjoyable movie to watch. I give it a 6 out of 10.