Two Weeks Notice
It seems only natural.
In fact, I'm shocked no one thought of it before. Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant
are arguably the best romantic comedy performers in the movies, so why not
make a film with them together?
Two Weeks Notice is a charming
genre comedy, completely predictable and yet still goes down as smoothly as
a milkshake. The reason is simple, the stars are charming enough that
they can carry the audience through the shaky spots. Bullock and Grant
do have undeniable chemistry, and that is not nearly as easy as it looks
here, just check out the soggy fireworks between Jennifer Lopez and Ralph
Fiennes in the recently released Maid In Manhattan.
Bullock
plays Lucy Kelson, a beautiful (but strangely essentially unattached) legal
aid lawyer whose strong urge to help the less fortunate comes from her
liberal parents (Robert Klein and Dana Ivey.) Grant is George Wade,
the handsome playboy real estate heir who is the face man for his company,
his charming looks and suave manner make him a natural to cover up for the
machinations of his controlling brother (David Haig from Four Weddings &
A Funeral). Wade is really not that bad a guy, but his insecurity
stops him for standing up to his family.
Grant's company is the bane of
Bullock's existence, constantly putting the bottom line over people,
communities and landmarks. When she tries to get him to agree to spare
a community center, he agrees on one condition -- that she becomes the
company's lawyer. Wade is quite frank about the fact that he is doing
it not just for her skills as a lawyer, but also because she's an attractive
woman and that would annoy his brother. Wooed by the opportunity to do
charity and pro bono work, Kelson agrees.
But soon she has become
indispensable for him, and not just legally. He calls her at all hours to
get her opinion of all aspects of his life. Though they become
friends, eventually Lucy chafes under his constant neediness and gives
notice. According to the formula on this type of movie, they are the
last two people in the world to realize that this great need they feel for
each other is love.
None of these plot devices were surprising in the
least to anyone who has ever seen a rom-com, nor should the eventual
outcome be. But what the script by Bullock regular writer Marc
Lawrence (he also did
Forces of Nature and Miss Congeniality) lacks in surprises
it does make up for in clever jokes. In the end Grant and Bullock
make this film well worth seeing. (12/02)
Jay
S. Jacobs
Copyright
©2002 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved.
Posted: January 23, 2003.
