Cast: Matthew Perry, Salma Hayek, Carlos Gomez, Jon Tenney, Tomas Milian, Jill Clayburgh, John
Bennett Perry, Siobahn Fallon
Director: Andy Tennant
Producer: Doug Draizin
Screenplay: Katherine Reback from a story by Joan Taylor and Katherine Reback
Cinematography: Robbie Greenberg
Music: Alan Silvestri
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Done well, a romantic comedy can be an enchanting experience -- something guaranteed to bring a smile to the lips of all but the most hardened cynic. Done poorly, a film in that genre can be sickening and unbearable. It's all a matter of style, tone, and chemistry. Some films have it; many don't. Fortunately for those who venture out to Fools Rush In, it's camped in the former category.
If you want daring or original, Fools Rush In isn't the movie to see. Like 90% of all romantic comedies, it follows a time-honored formula that allows little room for variation. For those who don't know it, it goes something like this: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy loses girl, boy goes after girl, boy and girl get together and live happily ever after. Occasionally, a brilliant love story such as Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise may defy these conventions, but that's not the norm. Most romances stay within these prescribed bounds, right where audiences want them.
The "boy" in this scenario is Alex Whitman (Matthew Perry), a WASP construction manager for a chain of nightclubs popping up all over the United States. His latest gig has landed him in Las Vegas, where he runs into the "girl". She's Isabel Fuentes (the radiant Salma Hayek), a strict Mexican American Catholic who has just broken off an engagement to longtime boyfriend Chuy (Carlos Gomez). She and Alex have a one night stand, then, three months later, she shows up at his home and tells him that she's pregnant. Twenty-four hours later, they're married, but it takes the rest of the movie before they attain wedded bliss.
Between falling in love and finding happiness come The Complications. Depending on the romantic comedy, these can be (guess the movie): deciding whether men and women can be just friends, claiming to be engaged to an unconscious man, trying to split up the winnings from a lottery ticket, arranging a meeting atop the Empire State Building, skating into the Olympics, and so on... In Fools Rush In, The Complications arrive in the form of a culture clash. Mexico-born Isabel and Connecticut-born Alex are from two different worlds, and the impending birth of a baby doesn't suddenly sweep away all differences.
With rare exceptions, romantic comedies spotlight actors, not storylines, and, in Fools Rush In, director Andy Tennant has unearthed a pair of winners. Matthew Perry, a TV fixture for years (he started out as a semi-regular in Growing Pains before moving on to his current gig) is arguably the most talented member of the cast of Friends, and he proves to have a style perfectly suited to this sort of low-key, light role. He's the kind of actor you naturally want to like. Salma Hayek, who until now has been relegated to supporting roles in bloody films like Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn, has the face of an angel and a body to kill for. She radiates both sensuality and sweetness, and makes a delightful opposite for the more laid back Perry. These two are believable as a divided couple who are hopelessly in love.
If you're looking for a little February romance (Fools Rush In was calculatedly released on Valentine's Day), this isn't just your best option, it's your only one. The romance market has been disappointingly lean of late, so this particular film provides a welcome break from drama, action, and dumber-than-dumb comedies. While Fools Rush In isn't going to win any awards, it should please most audiences, which is about the most anyone can ask for from this kind of effervescent, unambitious project.
© 1997 James Berardinelli