BERNERD REPORTS:
Those who know me know one thing: I am not a chick-flick-chick. Chick Flicks to me are the bottom of the barrel, and are usually so utterly predictable that it makes a writer want to get down on one knee and weep. That said, I just found one that I actually enjoyed. Pigs are flying, I know.

It's called "Martha meet Frank, Daniel and Lawrence" and it caught me off-guard. I originally clicked it on because it starred Rufus Sewell, a favorite here at Rogue, and I ended up watching the entire thing. Unlike most chicksters, the characters were some-what 3-dimensional; the morality wasn't a gray wash of 'rules' that every good boy and girl should know about the dating world (rules like 'keep him wanting more', 'have sex as soon as possible' and 'never, under any circumstances, show your real feelings until the final 3 minutes'); and the eccentric girl who's looking for love seemed like someone you could actually meet (and more importantly, actually like). These were characters who stumbled into the plot, not characters who were pre-molded to fit the plot.

It doesn't delve into anything very deep, but it doesn't float in that strange abstract humanoid world either. You know the place, where time stops and the cardboard characters wander around totally oblivious to money, thought and death. Don't get me wrong though, this movie is definitely contrived. But the characters are so shocked at how contrived it is that you can't help but enjoy it. It's almost like real people finding themselves in a Hollywood Chick-Flick. How would you respond?

Like most Romantic-Comedies I enjoy, this one is badly rated on IMDB (6.2). I guess I'll never figure it out...

-Bern

P.S. Fran wanted me to put a PS, so here goes: It took me the entire movie to figure out that Lawrence was the guy from "Shakespeare in Love". That's how awesome I am.