Along Came Polly (2004)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

John Hamburg

Writer (WGA):

John Hamburg (written by)

Release Date:

16 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

For the most cautious man on Earth, life is about to get interesting.

Plot:

A buttoned up newlywed finds his too organized life falling into chaos when he falls in love with an old classmate.

Plot Keywords:

Honeymoon | Scuba | Love | Waitress | New York

Awards:

1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Ben Stiller	...	Reuben Feffer
Jennifer Aniston	...	Polly Prince
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Sandy Lyle
Debra Messing	...	Lisa Kramer
Alec Baldwin	...	Stan Indursky
Hank Azaria	...	Claude
Bryan Brown	...	Leland Van Lew
Jsu Garcia	...	Javier
Michele Lee	...	Vivian Feffer
Bob Dishy	...	Irving Feffer
Missi Pyle	...	Roxanne
Judah Friedlander	...	Dustin
Kevin Hart	...	Vic
Masi Oka	...	Wonsuk
Kym Whitley	...	Gladys (as Kym E. Whitley)

Also Known As:

Risk (USA) (working title)
Untitled John Hamburg Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, language, crude humor and some drug references.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Switzerland:12 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18SX | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-7 | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:IIA | Iceland:L | Netherlands:MG6 | Norway:A | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Spain:7 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #40495)

Filming Locations:

Hawaii, USA

Company:

Jersey Films

Trivia:

The movie poster for Sandy Lyle's only film is a direct copy of the poster for The Breakfast Club (1985)

Goofs:

Continuity: In the last scene, when Polly and Reuben finish talking to Claude, they wave at Leland in his boat just off the shore. Immediately after, they are walking toward the sea, with no boats in sight and the sun setting.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Reuben Feffer: [practicing] I, Reuben, take you, Lisa... I, Reuben, take YOU, Lisa, to be my lawfully wedded wife. I do. I do.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Robot Chicken: 1987 (#2.6)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

RAKS ARABY

"Raindance!"

Ben Stiller is known for wacky characters such as White Goodman from Dodgeball, Tony Perkis in Heavy Weights, and the male model known as Derek Zoolander in Zoolander. But his other roles have been the quiet yet hysterical characters like Gaylord 'Greg' Focker in Meet the Parents and Meet the Focker's. This type of character is perfect for Stiller.

In Along Came Polly, Stiller stars as Reuben Feffer, the neurotic, slightly OCD risk-insurance salesman who looks at the outcome of a situation before getting involved. He decides whether or not a person is too much of a liability. Recently married to Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing), who on their honeymoon, decides to "get it on" with the scuba instructor (Hank Azaria). Fleeing back to the states, he meets up with his long time friend Sandy Lyle (Phillip Seymour Hoffman). He was a star actor but now is a has been who tries to go back to the top. For starters, he will be headlining the community theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar...as Judas.

Now that Reuben is back, he is "free", but isn't ready for a relationship. Since he is still actually married, he decides to just lay low, until he meets an old friend from junior high. Enter Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), the free spirited, total opposite of Reuben who will flip his world upside down. Even though they seem to be on the opposite sides of the love spectrum, Reuben is crazy for her...hesitant...but still into it.

What makes this movie work is the combination of wacky humor and romance. Hoffman is hysterical as Lyle who thinks he is the cats meow. With his life being filmed for a feature on his life, Lyle is confident and even tries to be Reuben's mentor. Although they don't see eye to eye with certain issues, the two have a sort of brotherly bond that lasts thru thick and thin. Aniston is great as Polly and with the addition of Stiller, the two become a great duo, feeding off of each other's energy.

This movie is a great date flick and is even a good film to just pop in once and a while. Ben Stiller is on a roll with making movies these days and this is no exception. Along Came Polly is fantastic and worth watching. Another triumph for Stiller...and as Sandy Lyle once said, "Let it rain!"