The Bachelor (1999)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Gary Sinyor

Writers (WGA):

Roi Cooper Megrue (play)
Jean C. Havez (1925 screenplay "Seven Chances") ...

Release Date:

5 November 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

One thousand brides. One hundred million dollars. Jimmie Shannon is about to discover the true value of love.

Plot:

A committment-phobic man goes in search of a bride including his fed up girlfriend, to inherit his grandfather's $100 million inheritance.

Plot Keywords:

Grandfather | Inheritance | Love | Remake | Male Female Relationship

Cast

Chris O'Donnell	...	Jimmie Shannon
Renée Zellweger	...	Anne Arden
Artie Lange	...	Marco
Edward Asner	...	Sid Gluckman
Hal Holbrook	...	Roy O'Dell
James Cromwell	...	The Priest
Marley Shelton	...	Natalie Arden
Peter Ustinov	...	Grandad James Shannon
Katharine Towne	...	Monique
Rebecca Cross	...	Stacey
Stacy Edwards	...	Zoe
Mariah Carey	...	Ilana
Sarah Silverman	...	Carolyn
Jennifer Esposito	...	Daphne
Brooke Shields	...	Buckley Hale-Windsor

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (original rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:U | South Korea:12 | Argentina:Atp | Chile:TE | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #36793) | Philippines:PG-13 | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Cook Ranch, Galisteo, New Mexico, USA

Company:

George Street Pictures

Trivia:

One of the brides mentions that she "went to Princeton where Brooke Shields went". Brooke Shields plays Buckley in the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jimmie is trying to explain to Daphne in the police station what's going on, she slaps him, then pins him against the wall with her right hand, with her left raised. In the next shot, her hands are switched.

Quotes:

Marco: [to Jimmie] Your birthday is soon, right? Like next week?
Jimmie: No, it's not next week.
Marco: Thank God.
Jimmie: It's tomorrow.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Artie's Queer Eye Makeover" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Pao de Acucar

Dire

Why, oh, why do they try and remake Buster Keaton's movies, he was such a master of his craft that it is near impossible to make anything near as good as his original movies. Saying that, even if I hadn't seen 'Seven Chances' before seeing this I'd still have the same opinion, Chris O'Donnell had the potential to be a star, but, he has the inability to know a good script and this is a classic example. None of the characters are particularly endearing, Arte Lange is plain annoying and seeing Ed Asner and Hal Holbrooke was saddening. Rene Zellwegger is as usual very good, which is about the only positive thing in this sorry excuse of a movie.

Major plothole, how come all the brides turn up at the church in full, perfectly fitting bridal regalia on only a few hours notice? Are we supposed to believe that all women have a perfect wedding outfit in their wardrobe 'just in case'? And amazingly, the wedding dress found for Anne fits like a dream, an amazing coincidence or what!! At least in Keaton's version the 'brides' are in their normal clothing with just cobbled together veils to distinguish them as brides, far more convincing.

My advice, hunt down a copy of the original 'Seven Chances', there is no comparison. Note to reviewer Matt Doolittle, BusterKeaton was an amazing man, but, even he couldn't direct a film 33 years after his death.