Cast: David Spade, Sophie Marceau, Patrick Bruel, Artie Lange, Martin Sheen
Director: Jeff Pollack
Producers: Morrie Eisenman, Matt Huson, Broderick Johnson, Andrew A. Kosove, Wayne Allan Rice
Screenplay: James B. Cook & Marc Meeks & David Spade
Cinematography: Paul Elliott
Music: John Debney
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers
Lost & Found has obviously been inspired, at least in part, by the rude, crude humor and forthright attitude of There's Something About Mary, and if this movie achieves even a fraction of Mary's financial success, Warner Brothers will be ecstatic. Unfortunately, even though a dog gets roughed up in both movies, director Jeff Pollack's (Booty Call) approach to his material lacks the "let it all hang out" style embraced by the Farrelly Brothers. Despite a few borderline-hilarious sequences and a winning turn by actress Sophie Marceau, Lost & Found comes across as a lame wannabe - a romantic comedy that lacks the level of outrageousness necessary to elevate it about the countless trite entries into the bloated genre.
Even though I'll occasionally admit to being something of a sap, it's still easy for this sort of movie to annoy me. Most self-professed romantic comedies do not have faith in the charisma of their leads or the chemistry between them, so, instead of relying on the characters, they load up the plot with all kinds of aggravating and contrived devices. These include (but are not limited to): the rival boyfriend/girlfriend (who's invariably a bore or a shrew, making you wonder why anyone would go out with them in the first place), the damaging secret (which is inevitably uncovered by the rival), the idiot friend who does untold damage before redeeming himself/herself at the end, etc. This is the case with Lost & Found, which leaps from one formula to another, rarely pausing in between to do anything fresh. Not surprisingly, most of the failed humor is tied to one of these contrivances. With the constraints removed, Lost & Found might have been an effective, quirky, feel-good motion picture. As it is, it's an overplotted sit com where the characters are forced to act in absurd and irrational ways to (1) satisfy the demands of the screenplay, and (2) provide punch lines to various gags.
Lost & Found introduces us to Dylan Ramsey (David Spade), a semi-successful restaurant owner in L.A. who's looking for Ms. Right. He's beginning to despair that she's out there when an attractive French cellist, Lila Dubois (Marceau), literally runs into him while chasing her runaway dog. Dylan is immediately smitten, and he decides to pursue her in the most rational manner possible: kidnap her dog then lap up her gratitude when he pretends to find the pooch. Things go awry, however, when the animal eats an expensive ring Dylan is keeping for a friend, so he is forced to keep the dog until a bowel movement returns the jewelry. In the meantime, he and Lila gradually grow closer until complications arrive in the person of Rene (Patrick Bruel), Lila's ex-boyfriend, who's determined to win her back and humiliate Dylan at the same time.
David Spade is cut from the same cloth as Adam Sandler, which explains why movie producers believe he has the ability to carry a motion picture. However, while Spade shares Sandler's fondness for sarcastic and self-deprecating humor, there's something missing: the inherent likability that gets us to root for Sandler. With Spade, we're torn between hoping he gets the girl and wishing he would get squashed by a runaway steamroller. Sophie Marceau, probably best known to American audiences as the French queen in Braveheart, is a delight. She imbues her underwritten character with vivacity and a joie de vivre that makes Lost & Found more enjoyable than it has the right to be. Unfortunately, there's not much chemistry between her and Spade, but not even Marceau can work miracles. In supporting roles, Patrick Bruel is suitably insufferable as the arrogant Rene and Artie Long is terminally irritating as Wally, Dylan's butt boy. Martin Sheen and Jon Lovitz have cameos.
Those looking for a few raw laughs and a little light romance will probably be satisfied with Lost & Found, although I thought it fell short even of that limited agenda. The comedy comes in all shapes and varieties - physical, verbal, and gross-out - but too many of the jokes are predictable, and, as a result, not especially funny. Due to Spade's comic timing and Marceau's effervescence, Lost & Found probably works better on screen than on paper, but the final result still falls far short of claiming a space in the hall of fame for dumb comedy.
© 1999 James Berardinelli