Bounce
Updated 18 Jan 01
Bounce is celluloid proof that recycling really does work. Taking elements from just about every romantic movie ever made, it works hard to entertain. And it has to, especially since you know how this is all going to end even before you buy your ticket. The film tells the story of Buddy, a self-assured young lion in the advertising biz. As played by Ben Affleck, it means Buddy is all ironic cool and teeth. As the film starts, he’s delayed at O’Hare International in Chicago with the victory energy from the closure of another big deal and no outlet for it. There he meets another young executive (Natasha Henstridge, the alien of the Species films) who immediately hates the sight of him, but wants to sleep with him anyway, so he gives his ticket to another passenger (Tony Goldwyn) so he can “celebrate.” What he does not know is that the flight will crash and burn after liftoff, and he will crash and burn under his remorse for causing the death of another human being. Buddy goes on a self-destructive binge which includes a lot of booze and several scenes featuring Ben’s five day stubble.
One year later, he decides he needs to check on the widow of “his victim” to make sure she’s okay. Abby is played by Gwyneth Paltrow, who expresses her character’s suffering by getting the worst mousy brown dye job known to man and pretending to be addicted to nicotine gum. Despite this, or maybe because this is such a refreshing change from the women he’s used to, Buddy falls in love with Abby, in the process of helping her out with a real estate sale. The inevitable love scene, hurt scene, courtroom scene, and reconcilaition scene follow.
The actors are not the issue here. Paltrow does a credible job as a widow with two kids, despite the fact that she sometimes seems a bit too quirky. Affleck does okay as well, except for any of the scene which requires him to express remorse. And the supporting cast, which includes Henstridge, Goldwyn, Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey, and Johnny Galecki, best known for his work on as Darlene’s boyfriend on Roseanne, register well here despite limited screen time. The issue here is just how much contrviance and cliche the film can stand before it collapses under its own weight. There’s the standard-issue best friends straight out of central casting, the cute kids who Buddy has to win over, the secret our hero cannot bare to reveal, the “You lied to me, I feel so used, get out” scene, the overwrought courtroom scene (don’t ask) in which our hero is finally made a man, and the tearful reconciliation sequence. The list goes on. It’s not what one may expect from the writer/director of the witty and refreshingly abrasive The Opposite of Sex, but it’s exactly what Don Roos give us.
However, this doesn’t mean it’s not engaging or entertaining, or that everyone involved in the project didn’t try, or that I hated it. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Except for the embarrassing courtroom drama which leads to the film’s climax, the borrowed parts of this film fit together well enough, the acting is generally good, and there are some amusing one-liners. But recognize Bounce for what it is: a standard issue, feel good romance for the adult crowd. They’ve just replaced the Sandra Bullock/Julia Roberts/Meg Ryan you’re used to with Oscar-winner Gwyneth. I doubt anyone will notice.