DVD REVIEW
 Along
Came Polly
Director: John Hamburg
Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Anniston, Philip Seymour
Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Bladwin, Hank Azaria, Bryan Brown
Classification: PG 13
Running Time: 90 min
Discs: 1
Reviewed by: Jeremy Abbott
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So what's it all about?
Risk analyst Reuben Feffer (Stiller) marries his dream girl, Lisa
Kramer (Messing). While on honeymoon she cheats on him with a scuba
instructor, Claude (Azaria).
Crushed, Ruben returns home and bumps into an old school friend, Polly
Prince (Anniston). Reuben, who lives his life according to mathematical
statistics, and Polly, who can't plan a day in advance, are complete
opposites. Somehow a spark develops and the two start dating. Then Lisa
returns, and Reuben has to decide who he wants to continue seeing.
Is it any good?
Along Came Polly is an entertaining romantic comedy. It's not the
funniest out there, but Stiller and Anniston deliver good performances.
Stiller is less slapstick and more restrained in his performance and
Anniston perfectly fits the bill as the scatterbrained, commitment phobic
new girlfriend - the complete opposite of Rueben's wife Lisa.
The problem with Along Came Polly is that it doesn't seem plausible for a
relationship to develop between Reuben and Polly, especially after the
first date fiasco in Polly's apartment. There's no reason for her to give
him that second chance and although opposite's can attract, that initial
spark never seems to exist between the couple. Although they do have fun
together, there's never any chemistry and one senses the relationship will
never last.
What really makes the movie enjoyable are the cameo roles of Alec Baldwin,
Hank Azaria and Bryan Brown. Baldwin is hilarious as Rueben's cranky,
chauvinistic and boorish boss, Stan Indursky, and Azaria is barely
recognisable as Claude, the nudist, lecherous scuba diving instructor.
Brown plays tycoon Leland Van Lew, an extreme sportsman Rueben has to
assess for an insurance policy.
Score: 3/5
How about those special features?
First up, Along Came Polly has the option of DTS sound. Interestingly,
they’ve included the original opening sequence; unfortunately the director
speaks throughout, so it’s hard to make out what the characters are
saying.
There's an enjoyable "Making Of" segment, including interviews with
Anniston, Stiller, Azaria and director John Hamburg, and a hard to
believe, real-life feature on Rudolfo (the ferret) being taken to the
Hollywood premier in a stretch limo.
There's a number of deleted scenes with audio commentary which are
amusing, but deserved to end up on the cutting floor. There are also a
couple of outtakes, with the ones on the beach being particularly funny.
Lastly, there’s a theatre trailer of Along Came Polly.
English subtitles and a director’s commentary option are available
Score: 4/5
Best part:
Reuben's toilet scene in Polly's flat.
Best quote:
"And you know what, when you least expect it something great might
come along. Something better than you even planned for."
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