Slow, relatively uneventful (even with that plot kicker), a little sloppy, and far from the worst movie I've seen this month.
It's true that Affleck and Paltrow don't ignite the celluloid, but this can hardly come as a surprise. Affleck's a handsome and competent actor, but really, has he ever had chemistry with anyone other than Matt Damon? (Okay, maybe a little with Joey Lauren Adams, but she's so fiery she'd combust with a fire hydrant.) In any case, the Affleck and Paltrow characters are both attractive, intelligent, and kind-hearted, and they make a wholly credible couple. Sure I wish they were Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, but they're not, and I can live with that.
Given the big-secret plot hook, the story's fairly credible, with the exception of an extremely unlikely ad campaign and a mishandled televised-courtroom sequence. (Why is it that filmmakers, who are literally in bed with advertising and tv people -- who ARE ad and tv people -- can never seem to get those professions right?)
From a technical angle, "Bounce" is generally competent (not that the story provides much of a challenge in that department), although it does have one odd continuity problem: In a couple of unrelated beach-condo scenes (that were obviously filmed at the same time), Paltrow's hair and eyebrows are a different (and more glamourous) style and color than they are in surrounding scenes. This wouldn't matter so much if Paltrow's brown-and-bushy-browed mousiness weren't such a key aspect of her characterization, but it is, and on a film with this budget someone should have noticed.
Still, there's infinitely worse garbage on cable these days (most of which feature "muthaf**ker" as a term of endearment). At least you won't feel unclean after watching "Bounce."
It's true that Affleck and Paltrow don't ignite the celluloid, but this can hardly come as a surprise. Affleck's a handsome and competent actor, but really, has he ever had chemistry with anyone other than Matt Damon? (Okay, maybe a little with Joey Lauren Adams, but she's so fiery she'd combust with a fire hydrant.) In any case, the Affleck and Paltrow characters are both attractive, intelligent, and kind-hearted, and they make a wholly credible couple. Sure I wish they were Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, but they're not, and I can live with that.
Given the big-secret plot hook, the story's fairly credible, with the exception of an extremely unlikely ad campaign and a mishandled televised-courtroom sequence. (Why is it that filmmakers, who are literally in bed with advertising and tv people -- who ARE ad and tv people -- can never seem to get those professions right?)
From a technical angle, "Bounce" is generally competent (not that the story provides much of a challenge in that department), although it does have one odd continuity problem: In a couple of unrelated beach-condo scenes (that were obviously filmed at the same time), Paltrow's hair and eyebrows are a different (and more glamourous) style and color than they are in surrounding scenes. This wouldn't matter so much if Paltrow's brown-and-bushy-browed mousiness weren't such a key aspect of her characterization, but it is, and on a film with this budget someone should have noticed.
Still, there's infinitely worse garbage on cable these days (most of which feature "muthaf**ker" as a term of endearment). At least you won't feel unclean after watching "Bounce."