BUY THE DVD:
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SYNOPSIS:
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about a brilliant but neurotic attorney with a charming, irresponsible and fabulously wealthy client in this story about whether or not it's ever too late to say "i love you."
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MOVIE FACT:
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scenes for the movie were shot at shea stadium on may 9, 2002.
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RATING:
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three out of four possible stars
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Casting directors aren't always the luckiest people in the world, as they sometimes make very large mistakes in putting two famous people together on the screen just for the prestige their names will bring to the movie poster. But the person in charge of hiring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant to star in Two Weeks Notice seems to have struck a home run, because these two actors actually look like they belong together. And they feel like they belong together too. Through both physical and verbal comedy, Bullock and Grant are a hilarious duo on screen and benefit greatly from a well-crafted story.
Sandra Bullock plays, "Lucy Kelson," a legal aid working hard-line environmentalist who thinks that confronting "George Wade," Grant's character, about the possible destruction of a recreation center near her home will help her cause to save the building. And Wade, in need of a new chief council to help run his multi-billion dollar business recognizes immediately that Lucy would be perfect for his offices and offers her a job with a quarter of a million dollars a year paycheck. Although Lucy wouldn't ordinarily work with such a person, she believes that having access millions of dollars worth of Wade Corporation charity funds will off-set whatever she might have to put up with at the job.
But soon after she accepts starts work, Lucy realizes that it is surely not a match made in heaven and suffers through months of accomplishing George's petty requests (such as picking out his clothing). After he pulls her out of a wedding just to help him choose an outfit, Lucy decides to throw in the towel and give her "Two Weeks Notice" and quits the Wade Corporation. But as all standard romantic comedies show us, the two people most suited for one another don't always see their compatibility until it's almost too late. And so over the course of this story, George and Lucy realize that their feelings for one another aren't completely benign.
Fifty percent of the reason this story works so well is that Grant and Bullock seem so comfortable with one another on screen. Their romance is a very natural one and the comedy that results from their association has a good mix of the boisterous and the subtle. For example, the movie doesn't always rely on some sort of physical gag to make the audience laugh. Although Sandra Bullock might be one of the best physical comedy actresses working in Hollywood today (and she demonstrates her talent well in this film), she can also rattle off a good joke with the best of them and is a strong presence against Hugh Grant's impressive knack for comedy.
Although Grant's comedic role hovers more around what he says, rather than what he does, he is also a very irreverent source of humor in the film. And because both of these actors accomplish their jokes together so well, the innocence and light feel to the story and comedy make the picture as a whole an experience that comes without a lot of emotional baggage. But that is not to say that the serious parts of the film are not just as effective. Grant and Bullock also both have a knack for the dramatic side of acting and when they have to get serious on the screen, their interaction together is just as effective as the funny stuff.
Although the story mostly centers on the relationship between George and Lucy, the supporting actors seem at home in their roles as well. Alicia Witt, playing the suitably evil and manipulative "June Carter," the rival for George Wade's affections, has a convincing run as Sandra Bullock's nemesis. Dana Ivey and Robert Klein, playing Bullock's parents, seem to be a bit underused in the story, but when they do appear on screen, they add weight to the story as well. And in their roles as rabid environmentalists, they are good with the comedic elements as well.
The operative word in this movie is "fun," and every scene seems created just for that idea. The fact that the film has more than the usual share of laugh-out-loud funny scenes is easily established within the first five minutes of the movie. And something that the screenwriters should be given credit for, is the way the story has meaning, yet contains spaces for laughter as well. As an environmentalist devoted to her causes, Bullock's character is a serious woman, but watching her fall in love with Grant's character, and seeing Grant's character reciprocate those feelings is worth the hour and a half you have to wait to see their mutual declarations of love.
For its genre, Two Weeks Notice his all the standard targets and makes sure that each shot is a bull's eye. Good casting, entertaining dialogue, and visually engaging set-pieces ensure that the audience will never find themselves twiddling their thumbs or looking at their watch to gauge the amount of time left before the credits roll. Saying that Grant and Bullock are "delightful" in their roles might sound like flowery praise, but the word is a well-deserved compliment.
Review by Kelsey Wyatt.
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