“Along Came Polly” (Universal Pictures)
Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston are the crown prince and princess of Hollywood royalty. Their names on a marquee can guarantee a boffo opening for a film regardless of how trite and crude it may be. And that is certainly the case with their new venture “Along Came Polly.” The stars light up the screen while the material dulls it out.
In the film Stiller plays Reuben Feffer, an insurance analyst. He does the figures as to how big a risk any prospective client will be in terms of insurance payoff. In his personal life Reuben works at avoiding risks at all times. He plays it safe and secure and hopes for the best.
He certainly has high hopes for his marriage to Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing), but on their honeymoon she takes up with a local scuba instructor named Claude (Hank Azaria). Reuben returns home alone and in a funk. That is until his best friend Sandy Lyle (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) takes him to a party and he strikes up a conversation with pretty, peppy Polly Prince (Aniston).
Polly is afraid of commitment but likes to take risks. Reuben lives for commitment but panics over eating peanuts out of a communal bowl at a bar. If opposites attract then these two are made for each other. It just takes the rest of the movie for them to realize it.
The movie is really simple and could be engagingly cute with Stiller and Aniston playing around together. But the jokes are so crude and the material so slight that you never feel any real warmth or involvement with these two. You like them; you just don’t know them.
Worst of all is the trashing of Hoffman’s talent. This man is one of the great actors around today and he is stuck in a silly role as a former child star trying to be big again. This plot line is annoying and demeaning to Hoffman’s talent.
Also on hand with nothing to do are Michelle Lee and Bob Dishy as Stiller’s parents. At least Messing and Azaria have a few more scenes to try to establish a character. Plus Azaria gets a chance to show he has bulked up.
The movie is rated PG-13 for profanity, crude humor and brief nudity.
Fans of Stiller and Aniston will want to catch the film, but those who want more humor and more substance in a movie will have to wait for something else. “Along Came Polly” is a showcase for these two stars’ personal charisma, but not one scene in it challenges their talent.
I scored “Along Came Polly” a passing by 4 out of 10.
