"Laws of Attraction"
Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) is at the top of her
game as a high profile and incredibly successful New
York City divorce attorney. She attributes her success
to going by the book and is a bit flustered when she
loses a lucrative case to Daniel Rafferty (Pierce
Brosnan), a handsome, rumpled looking lawyer who
practices law by the seat of his pants - and wins. As
the two counselors compete against each other in one
case after another they come to realize that they have
fallen under the "Laws of Attraction."
The filmmakers hoped that they had the makings of a
Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy classic a la "Woman of
the Year" and "Adam's Rib," but, the screenplay for
"Laws of Attraction," by Aline Brosh McKenna, Karey
Kirkpatrick and Robert Harling from a story by
McKenna, does not come even remotely close to the
charm and the wit of these classic battle-of-the-sexes
films. What we have, instead, is a light as air story
that benefits from a charm-your-pants-off performance
by Pierce Brosnan and a sharp-as-a-tack perf by
Francis Fisher as Audrey's vain, attractive, youth
envying but smart mother.
The story goes through a cliched series of events that
inexorably lead to the prescribed finale where you
know the opponents from early in the film will fall in
love, marry and live happily ever after. The problem
is the getting there is too trite to sustain the under
90-minute romantic comedy.
We meet super-confident divorce lawyer Audrey as she
is heading into a trial that could be worth hundreds
of millions of dollars for her client, but not before
she has an anxiety attack and requires a sugar fix in
the form of Hostess Snowballs. In walks distracted,
rumpled and very handsome Daniel who proceeds to turn
Audrey's open and shut victory into a debacle. They
say opposites attract and the uptight, sugar-junkie,
perfectionist Audrey is quite taken by the casual
insouciance of Daniel but she still strives to do her
best for her clients. The two attorneys go toe-to-toe
in one case after another with Daniel besting her time
and again in court - while he courts her in other
ways.
Things get interesting when Audrey is approached by
popular fashion designer, Serena (Parker Posey), who
is very unhappy with her womanizing, rock star
husband, Thorne Jamison (Michael Sheen). Audrey counts
this encounter as money in the bank for her law firm
until Daniel shows up as Serena's attorney of choice.
Miffed, Audrey takes on the task of representing
Thorne and his effort to keep his Castle of Rock in
Ireland from falling into Serena's hands. Daniel and
Audrey both decide to trek to the Emerald Isle to get
separate depositions from the castle staff to support
their respective cases. They fall for the charms of
the Irish magic while attending a local festival, get
really drunk and end up in each other's arms the next
morning - with bands on the fourth finger of the left
hand.
Audrey is shocked by the sudden realization of her
nuptials but Daniel is happy as a clam and moves into
her apartment, even if he is restricted from her
boudoir. Audrey's mom, Sara (Fisher), ever the advisor
to her control-freak daughter, lobbies for the
marriage but Daniel crosses a line when he uses
privileged information as evidence against Audrey's
client. The remainder of the film moves to resolve
this conflict and bring the battling lawyers together
but does so without imagination.
Julianne Moore is a fine dramatic actress with an
exemplary track record with more serious venues like
"Far From Heaven," "The Hours" and "Boogie Nights."
But, she has never shown the same gift for comedy. I
guess that old adage, "drama is easy, comedy is hard,"
holds true for Moore, who lacked any sense of comic
timing in the mediocre "Evolution" (2001) and equally
bland "Nine Months" (1995). In "Laws of Attraction,"
director Peter Howitt, has the Oscar nominated actress
playing the uptight control freak who falls for
handsome, rumpled Daniel - of course. Audrey has her
problems, though, as an unmarried sugar junkie with
lots of insecurities. The opposites attract theme is
better handled by Brosnan.
Brosnan easily sheds the suave James Bond persona he
has cultivated as the world's most famous spy. In its
place, he looks like an unmade bed and shirks
sleekness for comfort in court and elsewhere. His
comfortable, rumpled character is readily taken by
Audrey but the story has her protesting her attraction
until the finale. As such, Brosnan is the anchor for
"Laws of Attraction" while Moore must go through an
unconvincing metamorphosis.
The small supporting cast is bested by Frances Fisher
who steals the show from Moore every time she appears
on the screen. Parker Posey and Michael Sheen, as
Serena and Thorn, add little to the mix except as the
objects of the lawyers' legal battle. Nora Dunn does a
solid job as Judge Abramovitz, the no nonsense
adjudicator who presides over the high profile divorce
case.
Helmer Peter Howitt, with the very slight
script-by-committee, has a tough job in breathing life
into a story that, without Brosnan and Fisher, would
be stillborn. He benefits from these experienced
thesps and avoids disaster. "Laws of Attraction" is
not a bad movie but, with a more developed story (and
someone with comic sense to play the femme lead), it
could have been a whole lot better. I give it a C.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
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