Buy the DVD:

Laws of Attraction

Laws of Attraction, starring Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore as prominent New York City divorce lawyers, proves the romantic-comedy formula is hardly failure-proof. This sub-genre within romantic-comedy is what I call “Love at First Hate.” Boy meets girl, girl hates boy, girl and boy must be together for some reason (work, stranded in a foreign country, etc.), girl realizes she loves boy, and, when it’s almost too late, boy wins girl and they live happily ever after. French Kiss, starring Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, is a great example of this.

Brosnan’s divorce client is an ultra-chic fashion designer (Parker Posey) married to a hard rocker and Moore’s divorce client (Michael Sheen). While in Ireland assessing their clients’ joint assets, Moore and Brosnan accidentally get married, despite their hatred for each other, and position on opposing sides of a high-profile divorce case.

But, despite A-list actors and a highly successful formula, Laws of Attraction fell on its face for several reasons.

First, Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore had no chemistry whatsoever. There were more sparks between Brosnan and Frances Fisher, playing Moore’s mom. (In what world is Fisher old enough to be Moore’s mother?) I believed neither their hatred—the insults lacked force and conviction—nor their romance—completely contrived and trite.

Secondly, Parker Posey, always a bit “off” in her roles (but usually charming), completely missed here. Her quirks were merely annoying, even borderline-psychotic. And Michael Sheen was hardly believable as a rocker. He was better in Underworld, a highly stylistic yet incredibly boring movie. Needless to say, their chemistry was even more dismal than Moore and Brosnan’s.

With all that, you’re left with a deceptively alluring movie trailer surrounded by an hour of filler. Skip this one if you can help it.

Written by: Katherine E. Webb

Reviewers Rating: 2
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0

Rate It