REVIEW
TWO WEEKS NOTICE
Starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant
Written and directed by Marc Lawrence
Opens Friday, December 20
Check listings
Rough around the edges, funny, tomboy, cleans up nice: it must be Sandra Bullock. Self-deprecating, funny, helpless: don’t tell me... Hugh Grant.
Girl tries to make boy she hates see things her way; he likes the way she sees things, but can’t get through her determined exterior – until (harp music) love finds a way. I could see the formula in 40-foot letters all over the screen, but I just couldn’t help myself – I was taken in!
Two Weeks Notice is the formula Sandra Bullock’s been looking for. She didn’t find it with Benjamin Bratt in Miss Congeniality or Ben Affleck in Forces of Nature, but sure as the Queen’s your uncle, it works with Hugh Grant.
Bullock plays Lucy Kelson, attorney for all that is good. Grant is George Wade, pretty-boy puppet for a gigantic construction empire that doesn’t care a whit for heritage buildings. When Lucy tries to get Wade to see the terrible things he’s doing, he cuts her a deal – in exchange for sparing a Coney Island landmark, she must come to work for him as his legal counsel. He is so taken by her forthrightness, intellect and unintentional humour that he finds he can’t do without her and uses any excuse to call her to his aid under the auspices of work. She nearly goes mad with his ridiculous neediness and quits, giving two weeks notice.
During the two weeks, we are treated to the "I was drunk, what happened?" scene, the "Wow! You look great in that dress" scene, the "Wait, I want to change" scene, and several flat scenes that weren’t quite as hilarious as they should have been.
Still, this movie works because: 1. Hugh Grant plays a fellow who really enjoys being rich – that means we get to go to all the cool places and parties in New York City, often by helicopter. 2. Grant is the perfect foil for Bullock. He can tease and cajole and be just as funny as her in a totally different way. And 3. Sandra Bullock plays hurt, nutty, determined and lovable really, really well.
No wonder she kept trying on leading men like new dresses for her party. I guess she finally found one that fit. |
