亿万未婚夫 The Bachelor review by James Berardinelli 英文影评

亿万未婚夫，The Bachelor

The average, formula-driven romantic comedy goes through several predictable phases: the characters meet, fall in love, are split apart by complications, then get back together for the happy ending. To one degree or another, that adequately describes about 90% of the movies in the genre. Romantic complications can come in many flavors - the return of an old boyfriend/girlfriend, a misunderstanding, a momentary lack of discretion - but they generally serve only two purposes: to inflate the running time and to generate a manufactured conflict. They also represent my least favorite part of any romantic comedy; they invariably feel forced and unnatural. Even in the best films, these occurrence make viewers acutely aware of the seams in the script. And therein lies the biggest problem with The Bachelor - it's a romantic comedy where three-quarters of the plot is devoted to complications.

 

Arguably, the most important part of a love story (whether it's straight or humorous) is the portion of the film when the characters meet and get to know each other. It's during this period that the audience grows to like and appreciate them as individuals and as a couple. Regardless of what forces are aligned against them, we root for their romance to work. The Bachelor doesn't give us that. It rushes the meeting and the relationship's development by encapsulating three years in about ten minutes. That's hardly enough time to believe that these people love each other or to care whether they spend the rest of their lives (or even the remainder of the movie) together. Actually, the leads, Jimmie (Chris O'Donnell) and Anne (Renee Zellweger), don't turn out to be particularly interesting. They're attractive and likable, to be sure, but neither is compelling. And it's difficult to tell if there's any real chemistry between them, because there are so few scenes when they're on screen at the same time.

 

Jimmie Shannon is a confirmed bachelor, but, with the approach of the 30th birthday, he has decided that the time has come to settle down. Anne is the only girl for him, but he's afraid of commitment. As a result, his attempt at a romantic marriage proposal turns into a disaster. Instead of asking the expected question, he presents the ring with the less-than-endearing comment, "You win." It's all downhill from there. Within days, Jimmie's fiasco has become an "instant urban legend" and the perfect example of how not to ask for someone's hand in matrimony. His relationship with Anne has never been on less stable ground. And that's when the death of his grandfather (Peter Ustinov) drops a bombshell. In his will, old man Shannon has left a $100 million fortune to Jimmie, but there are conditions. He must get married, stay with the same woman for at least ten years (spending no more than one night apart per month), and have a minimum of one child within the first five years of the union. And there's one additional catch - the wedding must take place before 6:05 pm on Jimmie's 30th birthday, which happens to be a little more than 30 hours away. Upon learning this, Jimmie immediately tries to propose to Anne again, but his approach isn't any more successful, and, after she turns him down a second time, he's forced to look elsewhere - anywhere - to find a bride.
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The Bachelor's underlying premise (which is lifted directly from the 1925 Buster Keaton silent film, Seven Chances) would seem to have a great deal of promise if used as the jumping-off point for a madcap comedy, but director Gary Sinyor and screenwriter Steve Cohen play it safe by sticking to the formula. Sinyor's reluctance to do something offbeat is especially disappointing since he was one of the men behind the camera for Leon the Pig Farmer, one of the '90s most strange and charming comedies. The idea of a man engaging in a frantic search for a bride over a 30-hour period should be a great deal funnier than what The Bachelor offers. The film is not without its clever moments. For example, a few of the early scenes are well crafted, especially those that compare the life of a single guy to that of a mustang and the wedding ceremony to a form of human sacrifice. Some of the vignettes featuring ex-girlfriends (cameos by Mariah Carey, Jennifer Esposito, and Brooke Shields) are also enjoyable. Overall, however, there's a lack of fresh material, and not enough moments that genuinely tickle the funny bone.

 

Given a better script, Chris O'Donnell probably could have carried this movie on his own. He exhibits the requisite charm, charisma, and good looks. The same cannot be said of his leading lady. Renee Zellweger, who was delightful in Jerry Maguire, comes across as a generic girlfriend. The character is shallowly written, with most of her scenes functioning as filler. There are some nice secondary performances by experienced actors Ed Asner, Hal Holbrook, and James Cromwell, but their screen time is minimal. Meanwhile, I wish there had been less exposure for the irritating and over-the-top Artie Lange (Lost & Found), who plays Jimmie's best friend.

 

The driving force behind this movie was probably the scene of hundreds of women in wedding dresses chasing Chris O'Donnell down a San Francisco street. It's the kind of shot that works better in a trailer or TV ad, where there's no context, than in the film, where there has to be a reason for it. Once again, the idea (would-be brides responding to a newspaper article explaining Jimmie's dilemma) is better than the execution. And one would at least expect The Bachelor's ending to be about something - the triumph of true love over greed, for example (or vice versa). However, the filmmakers were so determined to adhere to the formula that they passed up an opportunity for a better finale than the one we're stuck with. Consequently, this aspect of the movie, like most of The Bachelor, feels like a wasted opportunity.

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