Wolff rating: GOOD
Plot summary: Astronomer whose girl leaves him decides to come to New York and spy on her.
Biased, pithy comments: This is a movie that is fine as it is, but shows so much more promise you end up feeling a little disappointed with roads not taken. I don't blame the quirky script (which describes truly sick people in a genial way) or the director or production---it's actually the fault of the stars. Although Karyo plays the role of the hateful Gaul perfectly, I found myself unable to believe people as pleasant to watch (even in the depths of their despair) as Ryan and Broderick could ever be lonely. I've known geeks who have gone into terrifying spirals after being dumped by a girl, and Broderick didn't quite have the manic intensity they had, although details like the predictive charts and graphs were right. So, it didn't quite take the chances it could have and depended on its amusing star power, but despite that comes off as a implausible, cute romance/anti-romance with some laugh-out loud moments. I had fun.
Other Notes: Kelly Preston is famous (in my book) as the news announcer in ``From Dusk 'Till Dawn.''
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Meg Ryan, Matthew Borderick, Kelly Preston, Tcheky Karyo.
Directed by: Griffin Dunne