‘Polly’ brings uncomfortable hilarity

Evan Marmol

“Along Came Polly” is a good-natured romp that borders on crass, but

just enough to extract a bit of shock and mostly humor. This is the

type of film that forces you to time your soda sips to prevent the

inevitable nasal-projectile soda dousing.

Ben Stiller portrays an ultra-neurotic newlywed that honeymoons

with a devastatingly beautiful and willowy Debra Messing. To his

chagrin, his wife has an affair and decides that she wants to extend

this tryst permanently. A defeated and heartbroken Stiller returns to

his life when along comes Polly Prince (Jennifer Anniston). While

he’s coping with his cuckolding wife, he courts the free-spirited

Prince, for him a formidable feat, and in the process he jumps

through hoops and hurdles to impress her and nearly drives himself

mad. The movie is like an extended “Dharma and Greg” episode, except

Stiller is totally neurotic. Throw in a blind ferret, Alec Baldwin,

and Messing attempting to reconcile the marriage, and you have a

winning combination. There is no scarcity of fun with this

star-studded cast.

The film is rarely flat, but it does have moments that could use a

bit of a kick-start. The humor, though, is inspired, unique and it

employs the full breadth of techniques; there is slapstick, low-brow,

sardonic, wry, witty and just dumb-fun laughs throughout.

The casting is sensational and the performances are solid. There

are moments that make you feel a certain sense of discomfort, but

that is a common feature of a Stiller flick. If you have enjoyed

movies that he has headlined in before, then “Along Came Polly” is an

obvious must-see.

‘Butterfly Effect’ is just air

To briefly explan “The Butterfly Effect,” a butterfly could flap

its wings in Malaysia and the cumulative effect of that zephyr could

escalate into a hurricane in Florida. Or a director could be bitten

by a malignant mosquito and in this malaria-stricken state he could

feverishly decide to film a movie and this could turn into a vapid,

listless goose egg starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart that will

eventually be derided and panned by me.

Our handsome protagonist and his nubile counterpart are separated.

He promises to reunite as he departs. Somewhere mixed in this

cut-and-paste plot, Kutcher discovers that he suffers from an

undiagnosed brain abnormality.

His doctors recommend that he keeps a meticulous journal of his

life. For some unpractical, space consuming, unexplained reason, he

lugs these tomes from his childhood to his dorm room. For some inane

reason, he decides to peruse them and when he does mystical powers

project him into what the audience is unsure.

Could it be an alternate universe, merely the past or is he just

insane? His primary purpose is to reunite with Smart, save the world,

or your guess is as good as mine. This flick is nothing but an

emotionless and lethargic love story that never impresses with its

effects and never connects with the audience.

I always take my girlfriend to the movies and when the concept

isn’t innovative, and the performances inadequate, she always says

“someone was lied to.” This was a flagrant lie, not a little white

lie. The plot can be so utterly bereft of exposition and change pace

so suddenly that it feels like a kiddie ride at the carnival. The

character development was lacking in characters. And, I did not see

one butterfly.

* EVAN MARMOL is Laguna Beach resident. He graduated from UC

Irvine with a degree in psychology and social behavior.