Forces of Nature (1999)

Dreadfully Boring

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Forces of Nature (1999): Dir: Bronwen Hughes / Cast: Ben Affleck, Sandra Bullock, Maura Tierney, Steve Zahn, Blythe Danner: It seems like a force of nature when studios continue to pump out these dreary romantic comedies. This one is about chance and romance. Ben Affleck as a bachelor who is engaged to Maura Tierney. He encounters Sandra Bullock on a plane but it crashes before it gets off the ground, much like the film. Affleck must be on time for his wedding, and Bullock must sell a bagel shop so that she can give the money to her son whom she has never met. Conclusion bares compliment due to a particular decision. Full bore full of lame situations just so to romantic link the leads. Its only grace is its concluding decision. Director Bronwen Hughes showed much promise with the fantastic kids film Harriet the Spy but he shows none of the same talent here. Bullock claims to have been married four times, which renders her a brainless gullible bimbo. Affleck should have called in sick for all the good he does. Tierney is required to sit home waiting for the phone to ring. Steve Zahn plays Affleck's trusted friend. Blythe Danner is also featured amongst the many useless wasted cameo appearances. There are a few complimenting elements regarding marriage but this is more or less a romantic tease in typical fashion with little substance and absolutely no force. Score: 3 / 10

Plot In A Paragraph: Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) a professional book-jacket blurbologist, is trying to get to Savannah for his wedding. He just barely catches the last plane, but a seagull flies into the engine as the plane is taking off. So he is forced to hitch a ride with an attractive but eccentric woman named Sara (Sandra Bullock) Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock make an attractive romantic pairing, and have a certain amount of chemistry. Michael Fairrman Bridget Thurman, Moira Tierney, Steve Zahn, Ronny Cox and Richard Schiff are all good in supporting roles. The plot moves a long at a good pace, their are a few laughs to be had and the ending is a surprise too.I don't understand the hate that Affleck gets, as I usually enjoy his movies that vary in tone, style and subject matter drastically 'Company Men' or 'Armageddon' 'Argo' and 'Hollywoodland' or the (what I consider the under rated 'Jersey Girl' I enjoy him in all of them. As for Bullock, she remains one of the most talented and beautiful women in movies, and her ladylike sexiness is in rare supply. Any movie becomes promising just by having her name in it's cast.

I am stunned by how many people are disappointed by the ending of this movie, saying it is depressing, unexpected, unwelcome, dissatisfying, etc... I guess these folks think that being stood up on the day of one's wedding makes for a feel-good movie!!! The ending affirms the beauty and magic of real love, an emotion that is exalted and pure, and lies above fleeting whims and senseless, immature attractions. Ben realizes that Bridget is his one, true love. Yes, he was distracted by the human tornado that is Sarah, but upon seeing his fiancée once again, he remembers all the reasons he fell in love with her to begin with, and he recognizes that what Sarah said earlier was right: all the things he found exotic about this stranger would one day be all the things he hated about her. He had no true bond with her, they could never sustain a life together, and he was smart enough to realize that before he threw away the best thing in his life. He comes full circle at the end: Sarah tells him not to be polite, and to be honest, just like his fiancée did at the beginning of the movie. For him, honesty is admitting that Bridget is the only one for him. By the way, Maura Tierney is one of the greatest actresses of her generation. She deserves continued success.

I haven't seen that many good films starring Ben Affleck, hence I call him Ben "Assface", but I was still going to give this comedy a go, even with it being two stars. Basically book writer Ben Holmes (Affleck) is soon to be married to his sweetheart and awaiting bride Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney), and he is being delayed by so many mishaps. After an incident on his plane, he hitch a rental car ride, along with eccentric, attractive Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock). As they continue the journey, it is slowly becoming obvious that they may have a thing for each other, and Ben is wondering if everything he has been through are signs that he shouldn't get married at all. In the end, he does eventually make it to the wedding, and after one or two delays and glitches in the event, he and Bridget do marry, and Ben just remembers Sarah as an influence or something to him, and hopes she is happy in her own life, which I guess she was, she has a son. Also starring Steve Zahn as Alan, Meet the Parents' Blythe Danner as Virginia, Total Recall's Ronny Cox as Hadley, Michael Fairman as Richard Holmes, Janet Carroll as Barbara Holmes and Volcano's Richard Schiff as Joe. Affleck and Buloock have done romantic stuff before, but they are not exactly best suited in this really average comedy with small giggles and an okay story. It isn't absolutely terrible, it just could have had a little more to offer. Okay!