Laws of Attraction

[ilovemovies]

The trailer is up at apple.com and it looks pretty good. I like Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan and the trailer is pretty funny. I am certainly looking forward to it.

[Trinity]

Julianne Moore's in it - that's all I need to know. :)

[Damned Martian]

Julianne's in = I'm in. Even if it was Battlefield Earth 2. And this actually looks very good, so what else can i ask for? :)

[sleekproductions]

I lovboth Julianne and Pierce, and this looks like a good movie, so I'm there.

[xirtam]

The Laws of Attraction? Doesn't that title sound very similar to another movie that had something to do with Rules?

[TheGodSon]

This isn't the sequel to Rules Of Attraction is it? :D

[FilmBuff84]

I generally check out most romantic comedies, and this one doesn't look too bad. Nothing major with the trailer, but the concept is good and Brosnan and Moore should be good together.

[moviegroupie]

Originally posted by Trinity
Julianne Moore's in it - that's all I need to know. :)

there are tons of julianne moore fans out there, i never knew that! she is a decent actress in Boogie Nights but even then this looks like Intolerable Cruelty 2. I hate old people dating movies :p

[syxxpac]

The trailer looks funny, Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses, and Pierce Brosnan is the coolest motherfucker in the entire world.

Count me in.

[Sigur509]

Originally posted by syxxpac
The trailer looks funny, Julianne Moore is one of my favorite actresses, and Pierce Brosnan is the coolest motherfucker in the entire world.

Count me in.

He's not the coolest Mofo in the world, but hes up there.

It looks like it could be a good time at the movies, im there.

[Tweek]

Her: Are you taking off your clothes?!
Him: Just the bottoms!


hehe.

i'm gonna see this one.

[Tweek]

oh and how does it look like intolerable cruelty 2?


it has divorce lawyers and is a comedy, but thats the only similarity i see.

[Boba Joe]

Originally posted by Tweek
oh and how does it look like intolerable cruelty 2?


My thoughts exactly.

[Kimmy]

i loved the trailer and i'm definitley going to watch the movie! it's that simple :D

[bozzy]

New York Obserer
by Rex Reed

And so it is with some relief when a movie comes along like Laws of Attraction, a slick, lushly appointed romantic comedy which will not appeal to tattooed freaks, violence-craving kids, prison inmates or critics desperately trying to prove how young and hip they are, but which does provide an element of the one word that has disappeared from the world of movies. Remember the word “entertainment”? It went the way of Vincente Minnelli. So is Laws of Attraction a great comedy? Get real. What was the last great comedy you saw, or the last great anything? No, in essence, Laws of Attraction is about only two things: (1) how pretty Julianne Moore is, and (2) how pretty Pierce Brosnan is. O.K., it’s not Billy Wilder. But compared to all of the films I’ve suffered through lately about killing and war and dope fiends and pedophiles and suicide, I’ll take pretty. Pretty is good.

The two stars are battling New York divorce lawyers who fall in love hating each other. We just saw the same plot with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the godawful Coen Brothers fiasco Intolerable Cruelty, but so what? Everything is a copy of something else these days; inspired originality is as hard to come by as one of Mr. Brosnan’s 007 Maseratis at a half-price sale. And even with its plodding tempo and dull padding, Laws of Attraction is a better, edgier movie. The adversarial Moore-Brosnan duo is rich, beautiful and successful, but they never go anywhere. They do not date, or end up on Page Six. They don’t seem to have any friends or lovers or get any bang for their bucks. What is wrong with this picture? She is Audrey Miller, a crack attorney who is not beyond framing the husbands of her female clients to get them better settlements. Now she’s up to her Palm Pilot fighting off the toughest opponent she’s ever faced in a courtroom. He is Daniel Rafferty, new in town, smart, ruthless, a GQ cover who has never lost a case. From their opening arguments on, it’s open war in the divorce-court trenches, using every strategy from apology to insult as they thrust and parry their way through New York, drinking lethal Mexican cocktails, landing in bed in a moment of horny weakness with him showing up in court dangling her panties. Two pit bulls whose battles in one divorce trial after another become fodder for the tabloid-news channels. Ridiculous, of course, but it’s the same stuff they print every day in the New York Post. Things boil over with the latest boldface divorce war between two instant celebs, a fried-brains-a-flaky designer named Serena (Parker Posey) and her rock-star husband, Thorne (Michael Sheen), the lead singer for a group called the Needles. Each of them is fighting over a castle in Ireland, so it’s off to the land of leprechauns to depose the household staff. Among the fiddles, clog dances and shamrocks, the movie takes a detour, and the two very charming stars get a chance to display how much charm they really have, getting married in a drunken Guinness stout stupor. Back in Manhattan, when he wins the divorce case because of a piece of evidence he finds accidentally in her garbage bin, it’s time for them to hit the judge’s chambers for their own divorce. By this time, the movie has collapsed along with every attempt at artificial respiration—but they’re so pretty to look at, and this movie isn’t over yet. If you haven’t dozed off, there are more surprises on the way.

The eternally debonair Brosnan, who is more underrated than he should be, mixes some of his celebrated sardonic James Bond wit with the sensitivity he showed in the marvelous film Evelyn. The delectable Ms. Moore is clearly having a rest from her usual tense and demanding assignments. Famous for roles that are usually one step away from depression, danger and death, they both look like they are having a swell time playing a sexy, relaxed, contemporary and self-confident rivalry in the Tracy and Hepburn mold. And there is a crisp, appealing and hilarious contribution by Frances Fisher, who plays Ms. Moore’s rich, vain mother. This ageless logarithm with the face lifts and the Eve Arden wisecracks is, in real life, almost the same age as Julianne Moore. When Mr. Brosnan meets her for the first time, he asks, “Are you really 56?” She purrs girlishly, “Parts of me are.” She’s got all the best lines—or maybe it’s just that they’re the only lines in the picture that don’t sound like they’ve been rewritten a dozen times. Depending on which credits you read, several screenwriters have been listed. Sometimes two and sometimes three—Aline Brosh McKenna, Karey Kilpatrick and Robert Harling—are credited, which is never a good sign. The dialogue is so muddled it’s hard to know who wrote what, but Mr. Harling (Steel Magnolias, The First Wives Club) has such a talent for clever zingers you can almost place bets on which lines are his. The movie’s weak stab at making some kind of statement on the divorce issue doesn’t ring true at all, and although the British director, Peter Howitt, proved with the Gwyneth Paltrow film Sliding Doors that he can juggle styles and tempos without confusing excess, he doesn’t seem entirely comfortable with American comedy. Thank you, Jesus, for the two stars. It’s their movie all the way, and Mr. Howitt has the wisdom to just get out of the way and let them go at each other like chinchillas in heat.

[bozzy]

Capable Romantic Comedy, Not High Art

Pros
charming and well-acted leads, funny, and romantic

Cons
obstrusive plot devices, not exactly original, and rough pacing

The Bottom Line
"Laws of Attraction" is a decent romantic comedy vehicle for date night. And as such, do not expect groundbreaking work or deep thoughts.

Full Review
Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie''s plot.
PLOT SUMMARY

Audrey Woods (played by Julianne Moore) is a successful divorce attorney in New York. Her career makes her content, but not happy, at least not according to her mother. It seems that being a busy lawyer leaves Audrey with no romantic interests. In comes Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan), a charming rival divorce lawyer. The chemistry is undeniable and they sleep together after an evening of binge drinking. The next morning, Rafferty beats Woods in a case by using a dirty trick. A rivalry develops between the two of them despite the romantic interest from both sides.

When a famous designer, Serena (Parker Posey), wants to divorce her famous rock star husband, Thorne Jamison (Michael Sheen), Rafferty and Woods once again find themselves as opposing counsel. In the course of the case, they¡¦re sent off to Ireland to settle a piece of property. After another night of heavy drinking, the thing in the movie tagline happens. For the rest of the movie, this handsome couple faces obstacles that may prevent them from discovering their true feelings for each other. The ending is no surprise, though. After all, this is a romantic comedy.

THE GOOD

Since this is a romantic comedy, I judge it by three main criteria: 1) chemistry between the leads, 2) be funny and 3) be romantic.

1. Julianne Moore has always looked very endearing and Pierce Brosnan can¡¦t be ugly even if he tried. And both being seasoned and charming actors, there are moments when they look like they could be a couple in real life. This is important to me because it¡¦s terrible watching a supposed romance when the people don¡¦t look like they¡¦re attracted to each other. For example, in ¡§Romeo Must Die¡¨, even though it¡¦s an action movie, the supposed relationship between Jet Li and Aaliyah was nonexistent due to a lack of chemistry.

2. ¡§Laws of Attraction¡¨ is not really laugh-out-loud funny. With Brosnan at the age of 50 and Moore at 40, this movie doesn¡¦t appeal to the demographic segment that needs that type of humor. I chuckled at most of the jokes and laughed at two. Overall, I enjoyed the slightly sophisticated, and sometimes naughty, sense of humor.

3. Personally, being romantic is almost synonymous with being idealistic, where truth, beauty, freedom, and love always prevail. This movie definitely follows all those things, even when it¡¦s centered on divorces and lawyers.

Audrey¡¦s mom (Frances Fisher) was another bright spot of the movie. Her interactions with Moore were very realistic. And unlike most good actors who overact when they only have a few scenes in a movie, Fisher was subtle and natural.

I also enjoyed the plot devise that brought the two main characters together; they¡¦re just a pair of lawyers who meet through a case. I¡¦ve been getting the feeling that writers are running out of ideas on how to get people to meet in romantic movies. How likely is it for a magazine writer who needs to loose a guy in 10 days and an ad executive who makes a bet for an account to meet? Or how about a duke named Leoplod traveling back in time to find the woman of his dreams? Give me a break.

THE BAD

All of the other plot devices are about as subtle as stubbing your toe on a table leg. First, the movie sets up the amount of money Serena and Thorne has before they were divorced. Woods and Rafferty also go to a posh castle in Ireland. Then, the couple is involved in more excessive drinking. Somehow, after the first 30 minutes, the writer decided that some extraneous situations were needed to push the two together. The great acting by Moore and Brosnan smoothed over most rough spots, but that didn¡¦t make the forced plot points less obvious.

I also disliked Thorne and Serena Jamison. They felt awkward and hamstrung for some reason. I¡¦m sure there are really outlandish couples out there, but the characterization of those two did not feel real. The movie could have worked without them. It could have even used the original case where Audrey and Daniel met.

The pacing was also on and off. It was fast and funny at first, but then slows all the way down when the Jamisons are introduced. Ireland was fast again, but the movie slows after that. Even though the movie only lasted 1.5 hours, it felt a lot longer.

Lastly, this is a traditional romantic comedy. This genre wins acclaims and awards as rarely as it shows originality. As I noted at the end of the plot summarization, the ending should not surprise anyone.

THE UGLY (otherwise known as the Truth)

Question: When watching ¡§Shindler¡¦s List¡¨, do you expect a lighthearted movie that will set a romantic mood for an amorous evening?

The truth is, not every movie is worthy of Academy Awards and not every movie should be. There are times when you need to watch something fun for a date. I hate reading newspaper reviews that trash perfectly good movies just because they aren¡¦t high art. Even though ¡§Laws of Attraction¡¨ isn¡¦t the best movie ever, it is well acted and accomplishes what it sets out to do. I rate it 4 out of 5 amongst its peers, as better than 80% of all other movies. So if you want to catch a romantic comedy with your significant other, I do recommend this movie.