It's pretty much common knowlege that when you see the words "Ben Stiller" in a cast listing, the movie is going to be about some horribly awkward spazz who regularly and unceasingly embarrasses himself. It's also common knowlege, although probably less so, that anything cinematic involving Jennifer Aniston will be about some quirky chick who just has to be different. So what happens when you have a movie starring both Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston? Well, extreme predictability ensues!
Ben Stiller plays Reuben Feffer, which expectedly continues Stiller's tradition of having his movie characters named something retarded. Feffer is a risk assessor, which means he sits at a laptop all day and types personal characteristics and behaviors into a software program, which then tell him how risky certain clients are and whether or not they can get insurance. This, of course, means that Feffer is an extraordinarily "SAFE" human being and constantly assesses the risk of success or failure for everything he does in his life. Whoa, sounds like a real bunghole. What are the odds that he'll meet some spontaneous, crazy-ass, love-every-single-freakin'-minute-of-her-stinkin'-life party girl?
Introduce Polly Prince (Aniston), the exact opposite of Reuben Feffer. HOLY SHIT DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING! Polly doesn't really do much for a living except party, not work, party more, engage in risky behavior, walk her pet ferret, party some more, and not work some more. She's the kind of film character that young intellectually challenged moviegoers see on screen and try to emulate in real life. "Gee if don't get a real job and party all day long, I'll look like Jennifer Aniston". Of course, Polly isn't here for depth of script; she's here to act as a foil for Reuben.
In a nutshell, Reuben is horribly nonspontaneous and Polly is horribly spontaneous. Something between them clicks and they try to date. Hilarity ensues. The movie overall is worth a watch and will get you laughing more than a few times, even if many of the gags have been seen many, many times before in other movies. Seriously, who could ever get enough of watching a character pinch a soggy loaf in a toilet that doesn't flush, while trying to cover if up so some hot girl doesn't find out. In any case, who doesn't like to watch a heaving dork like Ben Stiller humiliate himself.
It's also worth mentioning that Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as Sandy Lyle, Reuben best friend. You gotta love this guy. He'll play just about any role in any kind of movie, and then will knock it out of the park. He even manages to give Ben Stiller's character a run for his money when it comes to brute awkwardness.
Along Came Polly is funny but predictable, just like every other Ben Stiller movie. Rent, laugh, and then go do something else.
(Along Came Polly is rated PG-13 for repetitive personal humiliation, poopy, a well-placed spanking, violence against ferrets, and Hank Azaria's butt cheeks) |
