ALONG CAME POLLY

RATING 3.5

(Director: John Hamburg, PG-13, 90 min)

Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) assesses risks for a living and after careful consideration decides to marry Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing). What he doesn't figure on is her leaving him on their honeymoon for Claude (Hank Azaria), the French scuba instructor.

Reuben goes back home and is understandably upset, even his pal Sandy (Philip Seymour Hoffman) can't cheer him up. Then along comes Polly (Jennifer Aniston) and knocks Reuben for a loop. All he has to do is get over his cautious nature and take a chance on love. It's a risk he isn't sure he can take, but one he can't seem to ignore.

This is a very silly movie, so if you don't like physical comedy or stupid humor that makes you groan and laugh (which Ben Stiller is very good at), then you should stay far, far away. On the other hand, if the idea of a talented group of comedic performers getting together and celebrating some of the lowest forms of comedy (but with excellent timing) makes you smile, this could be the latest guilty pleasure you've been waiting to see.

In honor of Reuben's job of weighing the pros and cons before making any decisions, we decided to develop this risk/reward chart to help you decide whether or not you want to see this movie:

RISKS:	REWARDS:
The love of the wrong woman can break your heart.	The love of the right woman can make you try almost anything (this could also be a risk if it means eating spicy food when you know you can't stomach it).
According to Shakespeare rules, a comedy is supposed to have something funny with a dog - a ferret is a really poor substitute.	You get to hear ze story of ze nature of ze hippo.
There is an abundance of toilet humor (but it's a better class of toilet humor - if that's possible).	There is an abundance of Philip Seymour Hoffman humor but he steals nearly every scene he's in with his bad basketball and trash-talking and some brilliant moments from the community theatre production of "Jesus Christ Superstar".
Decorative pillows suck.	Scenes about decorative pillows don't.
Sends the message that anybody can learn to dance (which can be a hazard if you're on a date and you suffer from salsa-phobia).	The only thing more entertaining than watching the big salsa dance, is watching the salsa lessons that come first.
There are scenes that go nowhere and you can hear a pin drop.	The children's story Jennifer writes (although there are several minutes of dialog you can't hear over the laughing once you see the illustration - the dialog might as well be blah, blah, blah...)
You learn about the dangers of eating mixed nuts in a bar.	You learn about the joys of flipper sex and eating with your fingers.
Sweaty people - ick Rubbing up against sweaty people - double ick	What's up with Hank Azaria's pecs and abs!? He has been working out. Add in that French accent and he's how you say, ze bomb - ooh la la!

Home

Movie Chick Cherryl:
"The cast looks like they're having so much fun being goofy, it's hard not to sit back and enjoy it with them - 3.5"

Movie Chick Leigh Ann:
"Approximately 87.3% of the screening audience found this very amusing, 58% of those people were a little embarrassed that they laughed (but it still counts). So that means unless you fall in the 12.7% category of 'I am just way too above stupid humor' you'll probably like this movie too - 3.5"