Laws Of Attraction (2004)

Average rating

(59%)

Starring:	Pierce Brosnan \| Julianne Moore \| Michael Sheen \| Parker Posey \| Frances Fisher \| Nora Dunn
Director:	Peter Howitt
Studio:	ENTERTAINMENT IN VIDEO
Run time:	86 mins
Collections:	100 Rom-Coms
Genres:	Comedy
Languages:	English
Released:	September 20, 2004
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Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) and Audrey Miller (Julianne Moore) are the two top divorce lawyers in New York, so it's only natural they should meet, fall in love, and face reservations about the sanctity of marriage while tussling in court. Peter Howitt's film is a contemporary urban fairy tale and direct descendent of the screwball comedies of the 1930s, replete with pratfalls and battle-of-the-sexes repartee. The story has Moore playing the typical neurotic Manhattan professional, substituting work for a relationship. Enter Daniel (Brosnan), a rogue who wears his charm as effortlessly as his rumpled suit. Known for their in-court bickering, the pair wind up on opposite sides of a high profile case involving a philandering rock star (Michael Sheen) and his fashion designer wife (Parker Posey). The case leads both Audrey and Daniel to their clients' romantic castle in Ireland, where they find themselves married after a drunken blackout. The high-strung character of Audrey is a big change of pace for Moore, while Brosnan has it easy in a role that fits him like an old shoe. The real scene stealers here are Posey and Sheen as the couple savagely battling over custody of the castle. Along with heavy satire, this is really an old-fashioned romance at heart, and should make for a breezy night of marital therapy for stressed-out couples everywhere.

Rating of 2 stars out of 5

This latest bid to recapture the spirit of those old battle-of-the-sexes comedies stars Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore as rival divorce lawyers who fall in love after they get married. The leads do their best, but unfortunately lack any real chemistry or the effortless ease that Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn would have brought to the roles. Overall, the film is neither as sharp nor as funny as it should be — a mid-way sojourn to Ireland, where Brosnan and Moore get drunkenly wed, is especially misjudged by British director Peter Howitt. The best lines go to Frances Fisher, as Moore's mum, who has a feisty edge that the whole film would benefit from. So it's no Adam's Rib, but the stars are easy on the eye and it's watchable in an undemanding way.

Highest rated reviews

32 out of 38 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
Finally - a cure for Sunday insomnia!!!! (0 stars)

N Stafford from England, 28th April, 2005

Laws of Attraction is like visiting your lonely grandma and getting stuck watching The Young and the Restless while she sleeps on your shoulder. It is long and boring, plays it by the numbers, has duller-than-life characters, and frankly --- is rather pathetic. Trust me when I say, you would rather watch the Best of Big Brother than this movie. Ireland has never been so dull. Romance has never been so dull. I have never been so bored. Watching this movie is a cure for Sunday insomnia.

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13 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 1 stars
Awful, chemistry-free romcom

A Customer from Scotland, 4th February, 2008

I love a good rom com, I love Pierce Brosnan, love Julianne Moore. So what's not to love about this film? Absolutely everything, as it turns out. Brosnan plays his 'maverick' divorce lawyer as a sexist, wholly unappealing slob. Moore as his rival is woefully miscast as an entirely uncharismatic wimp. The romance is completely unconvincing and there is zero chemistry between the two stars. And just when you think it can't get any worse, the 'action' moves to Ireland. Cue panpipes, fiddles, top of the morning to yous... excruciating.

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10 out of 15 people found the following review helpful:

Rated 3 stars
The Basic Rules Of Romantic Comedy

David Levy from Totteridge, London, 17th December, 2004

The basic rules of romantic comedy state that (a) it should be romantic, and that (b) it should be funny. When a film billed as such is neither, how can we be expected to be anything other than... underwhelmed? In truth, The Laws Of Attraction is not a terrible movie. In Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore, it possesses two likeable leads, and has the sense to limit the risable Parker Posey to the occasional cameo. But, the script is weak, the story predictable and tired, and the whole thing seems to mumble along at a languid pace. That said, I have seen worse, but there are much better examples of how to do this kind of film. (When Harry Met Sally is still a masterpiece) Rent it if you're a fan of the two leads, or perhaps if you are planning a sunday afternoon in front of the TV.

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