Rating: 
Summary: Lack of romance disappointing, but good comedy subplots
Review: I bought this film for the same reason most other young women probably did - a love story involving the gorgeous Jude Law! I'd never even heard of this film and only found it after doing a Jude Law search on Amazon. I have just finished watching it and I can sort of understand why it wasn't widely publicised ...It's an OK film ... a comment which sort of prepares you for how 'memorable' I found it. The film's main love story is that of Danny (Law) and Anna (Gretchen Mol), who first meet when Anna is being born (5 year-old Danny literally lends a hand!). The young Danny declares to the amusement of the adults present that he will marry this little baby one day! After moving to England and growing up there, Danny returns to the States 25 years later only to run into Anna and her family once again. Danny, a 30 year-old tile-maker and incurable romantic, decides it's his fate to end up with Anna, but of course things couldn't be that simple - Anna already has a fiance that everyone likes. There's also a lot of stuff going on in Anna's family which seems to be coming to a head when Danny arrives on the scene - Anna's blind sister is in need of a huge change in her overly-closeted life; her beloved mother is dying; and her arrogant brother is dealing with an unstable wife who likes to confront him regularly with a pistol! What slightly disappointed me about this film was the fact that the 'main' love story was the least interesting of all (save a couple of cute scenes involving the toss of a coin). The other stories, particularly the one involving Jennifer Tilly as the blind sister, held my attention more. I never grew to like Anna - who seemed cold and boring throughout - and thus found the passionate Danny's sudden love for her too unbelievable. There is barely a meaningful word spoken between the two, and they seem to be two completely ill-matched people - so the instant 'love' was inexplicable. It's either the fault of the script-writers or Mol, but it's a shame that a better portrayal of 'the object of Danny's desire' could've made this a better film. To end on a positive note, I did enjoy the film more for its frequent comic interludes and some of the supporting cast's performances, particularly Martha Plimpton and Brenda Bletyhn. It's a good film for a free afternoon where you feel like smiling (and gazing at Jude Law!). I just wish it could have concentrated more on developing its main love story than dedicating too much time (and better script-writing) to its sub-plots.
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