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The Bachelor

The Bachelor

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: All Frosting. No Cake.
Review: As I watched The Bachelor, the comedy starring Chris O'Donnell (Batman & Robin), I failed to sympathize with the main character. Here was a young man, on the verge of inheriting millions of dollars and marrying the woman he loves, and he botches it because he feels apprehensive at the thought of losing his freedom. All I can say is, "DOH!"

O'Donnell plays Jimmie Shannon, a young man who has watched all his friends fall out of circulation one by one. Luckily, he has found Anne (Renée Zellweger, One True Thing), the true yin to his yang. At first she is like him, in no rush to enter a committed relationship. But after three years he begins to sense that their relationship has reached a level where he has to ask.

Adding to the pressure is the news that his eccentric grandfather has just died and willed his entire fortune ($100 million) to Jimmie on the proviso that the young man marry by 6:05 on his 30th birthday. That happens to be tomorrow. When he blows the wedding proposal to Anne, he finds himself desperately trying to find a bride in a short 24 hours.

The whole plot is hideously contrived, implausible, and hackneyed. Even Jimmie's mentor O'Dell (Hal Holbrook) exclaims, "What is this? Brewster's Millions?" Yes, it does sound like the 1985 Richard Pryor film, but it is not nearly as clever. Everything in The Bachelor feels forced, as if even the actors can not believe the silly things they are asked to do.

First and foremost, I find it difficult to believe that any guy would have second thoughts about marrying Zellweger. I mean, my gosh, look at her! The girl is Venus on a half shell. Unless she has some hidden flaw or horrible bad habit that we never see, there is nothing to convince us that O'Donnell wouldn't jump at the chance to marry her.

And yet, fail he does, and so he goes on his wife quest, albeit with a heavy heart. This is where the entire romantic nature of the film falls apart. While Jimmie drives around the city (priest in tow) revisiting his past loves, I can no longer accept that he loves Anne. Her love for him remains constant, however, and we only sympathize with her.

At one point he is asked what he is looking for in a wife. Does he begin to extol the virtues of his lost love? No. He doesn't get past shallow concerns like physical appearance. By the end of the movie, we no longer want Anne to return to Jimmie. In short, he doesn't really deserve her.

The acting in The Bachelor is mediocre. O'Donnell is unexciting, and his sidekick Marco (Artie Lange, "The Norm Show") is not much better. James Cromwell is wasted in the roll of the priest. Even Zellweger is not much more than a pretty face in this movie, although she is clearly the most interesting character. The best performances in the movie are turned in by Hollbrook and Ed Asner, who act as a mentors for Jimmie. Both the veteran actors give us something worth watching.

Brooke Shields (television's "Suddenly Susan") and singer Mariah Carey make cameo appearances as two of Jimmie's numerous ex-girlfriends.

For those interested in movie trivia, The Bachelor is a remake of Buster Keaton's classic silent film Seven Chances.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the bachelor
Review: this is a great movie if you like romance and comedy. chris o'donnell and renee zelwegger give outstanding preformances. if you liked jerry maguire, you'll love this!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a very meaningful and entertaining movie
Review: Saw the bachelor in the cinema,It did not fail to keep me smiling and laughing through the whole show.it show that money really can't get you true love.It is a guy sincerelyty that had touch the girl's heart.And at the last part of the movie when one whole bunch of brides chasing after the guy in the movie ,boy it was a real fancinating moment I ever seen,never had I seen such phenomenon ever.After all this is really a good movie to keep you entertain for two hours.worth watching.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: This movie is enjoyable but it has been done numerously before. The 1986 movie "Say Yes!" starring Jonathan Winters and not to mention the remake of the Buster Keaton classic "Seven Chances". Great scenery! Enjoyable! 3 stars out of 5.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good times !
Review: The Bachelor is a great movie! Especially for those women who think that their man will never commit. . . This movie gives you some hope as long as you can get past "You win" ;) (You'll have to watch the movie to understand the "you win comment)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: 50'000 brides can't be wrong
Review: Synopsis:
Jimmie Shannon (Chris O'Donnell), an unabashed bachelor asks his girlfriend Anne (Renee Zellweger) to marry him. But his uncertainty about the change in lifestyle causes him to botch the proposal so badly that she refuses. Soon after, his grandfather dies leaving him 100 million dollars in assets, with one catch. Jimmy must be married by his 30th birthday or he won't get a cent. The bad news is, his 30th birthday is in 24 hours. From there begins a rush against time, first to find his girlfriend and try to change her mind, and then when that fails to find any eligible woman who will agree to marry him on short notice. Will Jimmie realize that he wants to get married after all, and will he get the girl he actually loves?

About the Movie:
In many ways, The Bachelor is an utterly delightful movie, despite its flaws here and there.

One of the most refreshing things I found in this movie was the positive view that was eventually given to marriage. O'Donnel's character goes from a single man who enjoys his single and somewhat philanderous lifestyle to a man who understands the joy of committing heart, soul and body to another person. He comes to realize that some things in life are more important than money or sex. The neatest part about all this is how he comes to this realization. It comes partly through his attempts to find a wife on short notice, but mostly it comes in the voice of a role model that is almost universally denigrated in movies these days... a priest. I found that to be a nice change.

Plotwise, this film is standard romantic comedy material. Boy loses girl, boy seeks girl, girl makes things difficult, boy gets girl. What makes this movie special is the offbeat way the whole situation is presented and eventually resolved. It's just plain fun, especially that memorable chase scene near the end.

The supporting cast (which includes Hal Holbrook, Artie Lang, James Cromwell and Edward Asner) is excellent in this film, though at times a little overplayed. James Cromwell's priest is downright charming and O'Donnell plays his role as the uncertain bachelor rather convincingly. Together with the rest of the cast they make for some great and entertaining comedic moments that are laugh out loud funny.

The only really low spot as far as acting goes is Anne. Renee Zellweger is ok in her role as Anne, but as an actress, I feel she has a tendency to come off as a ditzy blond. Her character suffered a little from that, making her, at least for me, a lot less appealing as the female lead than she could have been.

Like many comedies these days, the Bachelor also suffers from the sex syndrome so prevalent in modern movies. Jimmie has clearly slept around a lot in the past, and it's implied that he and Anne are 'intimate.' Just once I'd like to see a romantic comedy without any sex involved, with a guy who's saving himself for the one he wants to spend his life with. I guess that's too much to hope for. But, I suppose in this movie, the lifestyle fits why he's not so eager to abandon it.

The other issue with this film is the language. The language in The Bachelor is often unnecessarily crude (usually sexual references or unfortunate potty colloquialisms) pushing the rating up to PG-13. It could have been a better, more family friendly film had they kept some of the language a little tamer and less earthy. It hurt the movie, and it didn't have to.

In the end, some of this film is a little clichéd, but overall it holds together pretty well, and makes the payoff at the end definitely worth it. Over all, the Bachelor is a fairly entertaining movie that makes a great date film (if you can overlook the language).

About the DVD:
The Bachelor comes in a cardboard snap case on a single-sided DVD in Widescreen and fullscreen formats with Dolby Digital 5.1 or regular stereo surround sound. This movie's audio tracks are only available in English, and the subtitles only come in English as well. There are no foreign language subtitle or audio tracks on this DVD.

The picture on this DVD is exceptionally clean, even on high resolution screens. This is what DVDs are supposed to look like. The sound is decent, though nothing that will knock you out of your seat.

The special features on this DVD are what you normally see on budget DVD releases, the theatrical trailer for the movie and a cast filmography section. This DVD release has the added bonus, however, of being a PC DVD-ROM with extra features when played on a computer. These include a script to screen feature, access to the original theatrical website and a links to wedding resources.

I've always found the script to screen feature on DVD's to be fascinating. While it's really only any interest to those who enjoy the finer points of film making, it's interesting to read the script while the movie plays. I do have a complaint however. The Script to screen feature forces you to watch the movie in fullscreen while reading the script. As a fan of widescreen, I found that restriction a little annoying.

Bottom Line: A fun film with some flaws on a budget DVD release with one significant extra. I'd give it 3 Stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The life of a bachelor
Review: For men, marriage is often thought of as a major subtraction. Men feel it's all about surrendering their freedom to their new wives, not being able to hang out w/the guys anymore & having to ask for permission to do stuff that they used to do routinely. Wild bachelor parties are typically a symbolic gesture of the guy's last night of happiness and freedom before his autonomy is erased.

For women, on the other hand, the institution of marriage is often thought of in fairy-talesque ways. The prince marries the princess and they live happily ever after. The gentleman chooses the most romantic locale and the most perfect day to pop the question. Then, when he does ask for her hand in marriage, he does it with a poetic eloquence that would rival Keats.

The present movie pokes fun @ both men and women for their pre-conceived notions about marriage. Chris O'Donnell plays a happy-go-lucky independent male who has not yet hit 30. He has seen his friends get "picked off" one-by-one by the marital epidemic.

Meanwhile, the ultra-adorable Renee Zelwegger plays a young woman who has been bred on all the popular fiction about how "perfect" everything will be when she gets married. She's also expecting a breathtakingly perfect evening in which her man will offer her the rest of his life.

As you have probably guessed, these two protaganists fall in love but their different viewpoints cause a great deal of friction. The result is nothing short of a hilarious satire on the differences in how men & women look over a lifelong bond.

There are some zany twists & turns in the plot, but that is the main gist of the storyline. If you like Romantic comedies, this one is a dandy. I'd recommend this film for anyone who has ever been married. And, if you've never been married......I'd recommend this DVD even more!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Stereotypical... but lots of fun!
Review: The Bachelor is a hilarious movie about a man that is afraid of committment, but has already found the woman of his dreams. It's how extreme circumstances, make him discover what he wanted a bit earlier than he was ready to. It's lots of fun, and the ending is extremely hilarious!! It is, however, a bit stereotypical in all the men in the film stress how marriage is the inevitable ball and chain... and all the women in the film, are ready for the committment, which is such a joke. However, the film is hilarious and all the crazy escapades that occur just had to the hilarity of it all. Highly recommended!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Light and fun film
Review: Chris O'Donnell is a bachelor with a serious fear of marriage. In order to inherit from his grandfather, he needs to marry. The obvious choice is the girlfriend he loves but he botches the proposal and she says no. He then chases down various ex-girlfriends looking for one who will marry him. Chris O'Donnell and Renee Z. have good chemistry. I thought the film was light and hilarious. I loved it.


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