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Review: Not nearly a 'Perfect' picture, but agreeable
August 11, 1997
Web posted at: 3:39 p.m. EDT (1939 GMT)From Reviewer Paul Tatara
(CNN) -- About a year ago, I literally bumped into Jennifer Aniston on a lower Broadway sidewalk. It was quite an enjoyable bump, but outside of that one moment, and the first season of "Friends" (which I actually got a kick out of until I developed a powerful urge to swat David Schwimmer across the nose with a rolled-up newspaper), I haven't thought too much about Jennifer Aniston. That's why I'm happy to report that she has really surprised me.
Her first starring vehicle, "Picture Perfect," is not what you would call wildly inventive (I wouldn't even call it mildly inventive), but it's a nice, reasonable romantic comedy. And, even on the big screen, where so many TV stars before her have gone down in flames, Aniston is a highly enjoyable comic actress. As charming as Julia Roberts is in this kind of thing, I can't imagine what she has going for her that Aniston doesn't, aside from a few hundred more teeth and an ongoing flirtation with David Letterman. Aniston just seems more approachably human to me, and I like her for it. I couldn't imagine strolling face first into Julia Roberts and living to tell the tale.
Before I relay the story, let's all repeat the Paul Tatara Law of Movie Jobs -- "There are only two jobs in the movies, lawyers and advertising executives." In "Picture Perfect," Aniston plays an advertising executive. The whole plot is a pretty dumb contrivance, but, if you want to be picky, that's exactly what a plot always is. Especially in a highly commercial romantic comedy. Aniston's character, Kate, is an up-and-comer at the agency, but she's told by the Big Boss that he doesn't trust her because she's not tied down in any way.
If she had a home or a big car payment or a husband, he would be more likely to promote her because he would know that she can't just pick up and leave whenever she wants. She's also heavily attracted to the office stud (Kevin Bacon, who looks creepy, if you ask me), and he tells her that he won't sleep with her because she's not a "bad girl."
Clip: "Do I look stupid to you?"
801K/20 sec. QuickTime movie
Darn the luck. Anyway, around this time, Kate goes to a friend's wedding (had to happen), and she accidentally ends up with a Polaroid of herself and Nick (regular guy Jay Mohr), who is videotaping the happy moment. Later, her best friend (Illeana Douglas) shows the picture to their boss and claims that the guy is Kate's fiancé. Well, this just changes everything! Pretty soon Kate's climbing the corporate ladder due to her stellar work on the Gulden's Mustard campaign (Gulden's practically sponsors the movie, like it's an Eric Clapton tour), and, of course, she gets aggressively horizontal with Bacon, who now thinks she's cheating and is the "bad girl" he's looking for.
Wait, it gets dumber. One day Nick, the guy in the picture, is all over the TV because he saved a little girl from a burning building. Everyone at the office thinks that Kate's "fiancé" is now a hero, and the boss wants to take them out to dinner to thank him. Kate then has to go find the guy, and convince him to come to the dinner so that they can break up in front of everyone. Guess what, though -- he kinda likes her.
"Picture Perfect" — Movie Trailer
2 min. 15 sec VXtreme video
After typing it, that really sounds God-awful, but the performances by Aniston and Mohr make up for the jerry-built story. It's not easy to maintain your dignity while jumping through this many plot-related hoops, but both of them manage quite nicely. Mohr, I've only recently discovered, is also a stand-up comic, but he sure doesn't suggest anything approaching that kind of narcissism. There were a couple of 30-ish women sitting in front of me who just about got up and announced their sighs every time he appeared on camera. In other words, he's a male equivalent of Aniston. It probably helps that Kevin Bacon, the only alternative hunk in the film, resembles an over-tanned Marin County coke dealer.
The best part is that Aniston really isn't playing a big-screen version of her character from "Friends." Don't get me wrong, it's not like this is "Sophie's Choice," but at least she's a little bit more aggressive than Rachel, and there's not as much cutesy-faced whimpering (probably because Schwimmer isn't around to encourage it). It is a little difficult to buy the concept that this woman is having a terrible time meeting men, though. The movie is set in Manhattan, and if Aniston were to stand on any street corner in this fine city for more than 10 minutes, somebody would eventually be all over her. Me, for instance.
"Picture Perfect" contains no nudity and no profanity that I can recall. This is basically a pile of meringue with no pie attached, but, if you're taking that special someone on your first date, you could do worse than to drop by and see it for dessert after you get done at Bennigan's. Rated PG-13. 105 minutes.
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- Picture Perfect Home Page
- Picture Perfect - from Cinema1
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