Movie Review: Along Came Polly
Seriously it is really good —
Good Day to my chronically online audience. Listen, I am sure you are looking at the title of this article and are thinking, “Did I read that correctly?” You for sure did. I have been in a Rom-Com mood the past couple of days. Is it depression? Probably not. Anyway, my gateway drug into this run of movies is none other than “Along Came Polly”. A Ben Stiller classic that surprisingly holds up. Let’s get into it!
[I apologize in advance for the next couple of articles as they will be Rom-Coms for sure.]
Synopsis: After a disaster of a honeymoon, extremely neurotic Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller) tries to weave through life assisted by an old classmate Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston).
The plot sounds simple because it is, it’s a 1-hour 26-ish minute movie that is quick-paced with a lot of humor that works really well. In short (like the movie lol) I really enjoyed this movie.
The acting is excellent. Unlike many Rom-Coms that just put hot person A and hot person B in a movie and shout “Action!” which results in us not believing a second of that relationship. This movie took the time to find actors that have genuine chemistry with each other. Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston work really well together. Ben Stiller is hilarious in this movie, really pumping his comedic acting muscles. Jennifer Aniston is funny as well, with a few scenes that had me holding my sides.
There is one though, one that stands above all. And that my friend is Philip Seymour Hoffman. He is so funny in this movie, he plays Sandy Lyle, Reuebens childhood friend, and a former child star, he is also a mega-douche. I relished every time he was on screen and I laughed every time. There is also a part of his character that actually ties into one of the themes of the movie pretty well. (more on that a bit later).
Apart from that, this movie is paced really well. It is only 1 hour and 26 minutes so it means that there is not an ounce of fat in this movie. I once heard someone say that a scene is a depiction of the characters moving forward with the plot of the story. I did not really understand that until I saw this movie. Every scene advances the plot, every scene has a point, and every scene has a purpose. I enjoyed that quite a bit.
This review is not gonna be long, I just want to mention the themes and we will get out of here. [Spoliers for the movie that was released in 2004] Reuben (Stiller) is an insurance risk analyst, and because of that, he lives his life in a very risk-averse way. Polly on the other hand lives her life as it comes, She is very non-commital and seems to go where the wind blows her. It is a very interesting dynamic, maybe opposites do attract. Anyway, Reuben is always worrying about the future, always worrying about what might happen he is living in the future. We learn that Polly’s father had a second family and abandoned her when she was young, thus giving us the reason for her fear of abandonment, her tendency to be non-commital, she is living in the past.
She is not the only one, Sandy played by Philip Seymour is a former child star, he still clings to his former success, but he is also living in the past.
In a way, this movie is about learning to not live in the past or worry about the future, it is to live in the present. It is about accepting what happened and what will happen. It is very profound for a Rom-Com in 2004 if I am being completely honest.
Overall Score: 8/10
That’s all from me folks, what is your favorite Rom-Com?
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Until next time, stay weird and keep watching movies!
Thank you ❤
