THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 16, 1997 TAG: 9702140072
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E13 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: 59 lines
THE SURPRISING thing about the new romantic comedy ``Fools Rush In'' is that it so completely convinces us that the two lovers are NOT right for each other.
It's a romance about two people who, we are asked to believe, will fall in love AFTER they marry rather than before.
Those who wander into the theater lured by zany ads that suggest a wacky romance will be surprised to learn how serious things are. The couple tells some pretty serious lies to each other, and he seems to be a weak-spined nerd who doesn't have the gumption to tell his ultra-proper parents that he's married a Mexican-American girl of fiery personality.
The two leads look good enough. Matthew Perry, from TV's ``Friends,'' plays an uptight New York corporate employee who goes wild one night in Vegas. Three months later, he meets the girl again, played by Salma Hayek, and she declares she's pregnant. Here's where the ``romantic comedy'' begins to go awry. With no regard to their own responsibility, or their responsibility toward the unborn child, they marry.
Then comes the movie's would-be ``funny'' middle section. His family comes calling. His mom is played by veteran Jill Clayburgh (who was nominated for an Oscar for ``An Unmarried Woman''). His father is played by his real-life father, John Bennett Perry. A silly sitcom setup is put into motion because he hasn't told them he's married.
Her flamboyant, extroverted family redecorates the house with religious crosses and bright colors.
Eventually, she tells the movie's biggest, most heinous, fib. We can't tell you what it is, but it is enough to end any marriage.
We're supposed to sail through these little betrayals as if they were comedic, not malicious or insensitive.
Hayek is a personable performer who seems to have some flair for flair. Perry, not as wisecracking as in his TV comedy, seems to want to be either a young Jimmy Stewart or Tom Hanks. He plays a bumbling, fumbling vulnerable type with likable flair.
We like them both, but we don't think they're right for each other - and that's a problem for a relationship movie that seeks to be cajoling rather than confrontational.
``Fools Rush In,'' incidentally, is based on the real-life romance of its producers Anna Maria Davis and Doug Draizin. She is of Mexican background and did live in Las Vegas where she met him, got pregnant and married him - just as in the movie. The only trouble is that they are now divorced (although still friendly enough to produce a movie together). So much for this movie's happy ending. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW
``Fools Rush In''
Cast: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Jon Tenney, Jill Clayburgh,
John Bennett Perry
Director: Andy Tennant
Music: Alan Silvestri
MPAA rating: PG-13 (some language, sexual situation)
Mal's rating: **