She's The One (1996) starring John Mahoney, Edward Burns, Michael McGlone, Maxine Bahns, Jennifer Aniston, Cameron Diaz, Malachy McCourt, Leslie Mann, Amanda Peet directed by Edward Burns Movie Review

She's The One (1996)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Maxine Bahns and Edward Burns in She's The One (1996)

The Brothers Fitzpatrick

New York Cabbie Mickey (Edward Burns - 27 Dresses) picks up the attractive Hope (Maxine Bahns) and gets chatting, chatting leads to a long drive and within 24 hours they have got married. One returning home Mickey's family are not so happy as his father wonders what Hope's story is and his brother Francis (Michael McGlone - The Bone Collector) is unhappy as he didn't get to be his best man. Not that Francis has much time to be concerned as whilst married to Renee (Jennifer Aniston) he also has a girlfriend called Heather (Cameron Diaz). But to complicate matters further Heather and Mickey use to be engaged until Mickey caught her cheating on him and when Heather bumps into Mickey again she realises she still has feelings for him.

That synopsis for "She's The One" makes it sound like a bit of a screwball comedy with all the interlinking relationships within the Fitzpatrick family causing issues. And it probably could have been a really enjoyable screwball comedy if it wasn't for the fact at the same time writer, director as well as actor Edward Burns tries to find some depth to all of this, some depth to the characters which leads it off on a different tangent. Yet it still tries to be a bit of a screwball and for me that mix just doesn't work, not that it makes "She's The One" a bad movie but one which goes from being one thing to something different and back again the whole time.

Jennifer Aniston and Michael McGlone in She's The One (1996)

This flip flopping between styles really comes in to play when it comes to the characters who are a diverse bunch. On one hand you have Mickey who seems a bit of a thinker yet his father is a tough talker who refers to his son as sister when talking to his brother. It almost seems like Burns was trying to give us some full on comedy and then use the jokes to give the characters depth but it doesn't work.

The up shot of all this is that the comedy doesn't quite work but the actors deliver full on characters and it is the appeal of the cast which keeps you watching. From Aniston as a sex starved wife to Diaz as a hooker these likeable actors playing entertaining characters. The trouble is that the characters go from being simply funny to being introspective which spoils the humour.

What this all boils down to is that "She's The One" just didn't do it for me due to its attempt to be screwball yet introspective, a mix which just doesn't come off.


LATEST REVIEWS