Bounce

Starring Ben n Gwen

Stars: and maybe a half for hunk factor

Anyone who takes it upon him or herself to review a film can suffer from the Ebert Effect, named of course for the ebullient and argumentative TV film critic whose thumbs are permanently paralyzed in the upward position. The Ebert Effect is the tendency to overrate films due to not having seen a truly praiseworthy one in far too long, possibly ever. So a relative rating of four stars, or two thumbs as it were, is simply in relation to other films reviewed in the same Roger Ebert episode, say an Adam Sandler film that is only slightly worse by contrast.

Apparently the same trend is happening in collegiate circles, where the pressure, or lack of perspective, is causing large swaths of the student population to earn somewhat meaningless A grade point averages due to the tendency of the GPA not to reflect actual performance, but rather to be the minimum needed requirement to advance in life, or at the box office.

Perhaps I am not making sense, I meant only to preface my review by explaining that in many ways this film deserved way less than 2.5 stars, except that I can think of countless films that are much worse.

The (as it turns out, irrelevant) premise of Bounce is that of a widow who is romanced by the cad who gave away his ticket to a doomed flight to her husband. After checking up on her out of guilt, he, of course, falls in love with her, and yet neglects to mention the ticket snafu until he is outed by video footage.

On to the real plot of the film, which is simply a star showcase for the principles and their basically pedestrian and unlikely love affair. Since everything that happens in every movie is totally improbable, and most plots are based on neatly constructed patterns of coincidence, I won't harp on that subject any longer than needed. I will simply focus on the meandering love affair because that would be the only reason to see, or not see, the film.

Do you like Ben n Gwen? As actors, that is, when mugging on Actor's Studio as their actual selves, I do not like them one iota. They completely lack the charm and poise of a Julia Roberts or a Kevin Spacey. As actors they are dewily attractive and competently sensitive, and thus function compatibly as affair-mates. Most of the luster of the two and a half stars I ascribe to the film can be attributed to my admiration for the hunk-ready features of Affleck.

The affair however is riddled by the background noise of modern movie clichés, a few of which I will list followed immediately by the first film I can think of that features the same cliché:

• The unattached, sassy yet less attractive female confidante (Runaway Bride)
• The widow's children who take too easily and chummily to mom's new boyfriend (Jerry Maguire)
• The bout with alcoholism characterized by one clean breakdown at the microphone during a public function (The Wedding Singer-- actually, in this case, a satire, and a funny one)
• The glitzy, "stressful," yet seemingly un time-intensive careers that supposedly round out or explain the characters even though the characters spend the whole movie on dates, or brooding alone in nicely furnished apartments (where do I start???)

I fully admit to getting tearily misty during two parts of the film. This is due to the apparent fact that I am easily manipulated by tearjerking techniques, as I am female. This is what the filmmakers bank on, and it's why they made this film. That said I don't even think it is a specifically good specimin of the tearjerking variety. It certainly failed in the airplane crash department, which is a favorite morbid subject of mine.

This film is the first DVD I have ever rented, and viewing the deleted scenes, included on a second disk, illuminated the subject of film editing for me. That is, many of the random dead ends, plot holes, and inconsistencies in films are due to cut scenes, something that seems obvious but is really underscored by viewing cut scenes after a movie is over.

All in all, my recommendation: don't rent this film unless you are a disciple of Ben Affleck's hunkiness.

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