Mary Horowitz (Sandra Bullock) is the crossword puzzle writer for the Sacramento newspaper. Brainy but reclusive, she is so driven to create good work that her life is consumed with writing and research. Not only that, she is now bunking with her parents, for her old apartment has to be "fumigated". Naturally, her parents want Mary to experience love, marriage, and children so they keep trying to get her out of the house. Setting her up with the son of close friends, Mary reluctantly agrees to go out with Steve (Bradley Cooper). But, oh joy! Steve is a looker and has an intriguing job as the cameraman for a cable news reporter, Hartman (Thomas Haden Church). Mary likes, likes, likes what she sees. But, since the puzzle-writer won't stop talking and makes heavy romantic advances, Steve gets spooked only minutes into their first date and he bolts, citing his need to get to a new work assignment. But, Mary is dizzy in love. She bumbles her next crossword duties, gets fired and, suddenly, decides to follow Steve to his current location, and the next one, too. Steve is horrified and tries to get rid of her but Hartman tells Mary, privately, that Steve is secretly happy she is there and that she should not get discouraged in her pursuit of love. Its a puzzlement! Will Mary get her heart's desire? In the world of romantic comedies, this one is an odd duck. It is interesting and has many good elements but doesn't achieve overall success. However, its weaknesses do not include the cast, for Bullock, Cooper, and especially Haden Church, are great. All of the supporting cast members are very fine, too. In fact, its the actors' skills that elevate the film beyond its script and tentative direction. Yes, it tries to make some good statements about individuality, media hype, and the like. But, it never totally succeeds in getting its points across with aplomb. On a lesser note, the costumes and sets are quite nice indeed. In short, if you love Bullock, Cooper, Haden Church or quirky movies, you might give this one a whirl. Sometimes an interesting "failure" is more fun than a slick but pointless flick.
