Amy Adler Max (James Le Gros) and Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals) have been living together for some time. One day, Max offers Elizabeth a small jewelry box and she ecstatically believes he is proposing to her. However, inside the box is a glorified toothpick that Max contends will be a lucrative business idea. Elizabeth is deeply hurt and the couple begin pulling apart. Waiting to pounce on Max is a co-worker named Lena (Drew Barrymore), who lost her heart to him many moons ago at the introspective movie theater where they both toil. Elizabeth, too, finds solace with an attractive man, Henry (Jon Stewart) after meeting him late one night at a coffee shop. Yet, Max still obsesses about Elizabeth, seeing her face in all of the pot-boiling films he shows at the cinema. Is there a major breakup coming or a reconciliation? This is a wonderfully different romantic drama, with attractive players and an offbeat charm. Beals and Barrymore are both talented and very lovely in their roles, with Jennifer dressing simply but elegantly and Barrymore sporting one outrageous but arresting outfit after another. Le Gros is also fine as the mixed-up boyfriend while Stewart is a funny and handsome suitor for Beals. The scenery in and around Manhattan is nice and the production values very fine. Also interesting are the movie's technical attributes, which includes shooting scenes from different angles and substituting the faces of Beals and company in the old black and white films of long ago. Moreover, the script is quite inventive and original. In short, if your wish is for a nice romantic drama, with comedy and feeling, try this sweet but obscure film. After a viewing, you will definitely be thinking your made the right choice.

phantom_brick_thrower I had the displeasure of watching this movie last night, and I must say it was pretty good up until a certain point.I must say that the plot was good and the structure was interesting and kept me watching instead of just turning off the TV.The thing that irritated me about this movie was it's ending. In the end, the husband realizes everything that he has done wrong in his relationship, and the cheating wife gets off without punishment. The problem is, the husband was paranoid about his wife cheating. He was paranoid about him cheating, so she cheats. And apparently its his fault. This ending ruins the entire movie. The entire thing, it was based on this guy catching his cheating wife, and hopefully making her feel horrible so she'd kill herself. Thats the main reason I wanted to see the end, I wanted her to get her come-uppance. Instead she gets to go off happy with her boy-toy, and he gets stuck with a moronic Drew Barrymore, with an idiotic unfunny scene with fortune cookies.Does anyone else see this as a major plot flaw? Am I the only one who hates it when a movie is seen as a happy ending by those who made it, those who have cheated before, and hated by those who have been cheated on?I want to see a movie where the cheating bitch gets killed for cheating. Secret Window, thats the sort of ending that should have been on this crap-fest.

Jim (jim-1225) 'Wishful Thinking' was shown on TV last night, with more appearing after midnight than before. I'm afraid I was rather tired, and dozed off here and there. I do not recommend napping during this title, as there is so much of the content which the viewer needs to tie together. There isn't much padding. Fortunately, I was smart enough to record this title in case it was worth a review, and I'm glad I did. I watched it again this morning, and made so much more of it now that I'm in more awake mode.The plot is based around a quintet's relationships: three guys and two girls. I found all of the characters interesting. True to real life, each displayed virtues and vices. As far as I'm concerned, this does qualify as a comedy. It is not the slapstick variety, but a quiet sense of humour, which amused me, pervades the movie. I'm not so sure that it is a romantic comedy, because the romance isn't really touching enough, but I wouldn't call it unromantic.The whole quintet played their parts well, and which of them we prefer will depend on our outlook on life. Elizabeth (Jennifer Beals) was the character I liked best. There was something very charming and commendable about Elizabeth, and I will look forward to seeing Jennifer Beals again on my screen if she has done any similar work. I also enjoyed Henry (Jon Stewart), a character of depth whose company would be great fun and appreciated by everybody.I'm no expert, so what I am about to say concerning the film's director, Adam Park, may reap disdain from those more knowledgeable than I, those having different tastes, or those who have a different understanding of life. I thought the director did a great job in many respects. Like 'Pleasantville', the clever use of colour and monochrome added an extra dimension. There were plenty of facial close-ups, which I need to get a good feel for a character. Continuity might seem somewhat disjointed, but that is the nature of this beast. In fact, the viewer is steadily gaining more of the overall picture throughout. I would like to make three points in particular: (i) This film is well structured, but demands intelligence and alertness from the audience. Other reviews indicate that it is easy to lose track of the action, and some will fail to make the necessary connections. (ii) The ending, shown concurrently with the credits, gives a strong indication as to how events pan out, but it wasn't sufficiently conclusive for me. As a person who loves everything properly wrapped up and with a happy-ever-after ending, I didn't have full confidence in the enduring quality of the suggested final relationships. I'm willing to grant that they might be promising, however. (iii) Particularly as the writing credits were attributed to the director, please take note that a significant minority of us don't like effing in the scripts, of which there were about five bouts in 'Wishful Thinking'. Also, cheap laughs might be had by demonstrating a lack of respect for God and religion, but the serious consequences of this will only be understood by many when they inevitably meet their Maker. The moral tone, language and respect for God in a film largely determines whether or not I am willing to buy the DVD, if there is one. In this case, it would need to be exceedingly cheap to tempt me, but by that I am not suggesting this movie is without merit.To sum up, please don't judge this movie on a single viewing. It improves greatly on the second time around, and I would certainly be tempted to watch it again in a while, if and when it is re-shown.

CiciB Good God all mighty someone please save me from this movie. I saw the preview and it looked reasonably comedic. As it turned out those few moments were the only ones that were funny AT ALL! This movie depicts a group of struggling twenty-somethings in their quest to find/understand love. My oh my what an original theme. It relieves the same events over and over, each time a different character is the 'narrator'. I couldn't stand this movie long enough to finish it so please don't ask me how it ends. I'm giving it two enthusiastic thumbs down.