A man on his way to his wedding is derailed by unforeseen circumstances. This is hardly a new premise in film. One of the early versions of this basic theme was Frank Capra's It Happened One Night which won the Oscar for best picture in 1934. Critic Owen Gleiberman has described Force of Nature as a cross between It Happened One Night and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This description is not far from the mark.Ben Affleck plays Ben Holmes, "a jacket-copy writer" on his way to Savannah for his wedding. His plane is involved in a runway accident so he ends up joining forces with a stranger named Sarah (Sandra Bullock) who also needs to get to Savannah. Along the way they recognize their mutual attraction, and all of the pieces are in place for a pretty standard screwball comedy.Affleck and Bullock are well cast in their respective parts, and it is refreshing to see them in roles that give them both a little more room to move. Affleck is still hot from his success in Good Will Hunting and Armageddon. Bullock's recent past has been a bit spotty including mixed reviews for Hope Floats and unanimous slams for Speed 2. In the right roles, these are actors that are fun too watch. They carry their parts well here, but unfortunately the parts aren't much worth carrying. There are a few golden moments here, but there's even more mindless fluff.There are also a few too many scenes that are designed to add some sex appeal, but do little to advance the story line (e.g., a bachelor party and a scene in a gay bar). This is a shame, because there are some worthwhile insights about love, fear, and grace buried in the clutter of this film. The visuals in the film provide some special moments too, but the end result is a film that is very uneven and ultimately flawed.The two questions I ask when I evaluate a film are: "is it a story worth telling?", and "is it a story well told?". This film comes close on both counts, but ultimately fails the test. When I was trying to decide which film to review this weekend, I was debating between this film and Clint Eastwood in True Crime. I still haven't seen the Eastwood flick, but if you find yourself faced with the same two options, my advice would be to give Clint a shot-go ahead, make his day.

On one level, "Forces of Nature" falls squarely in what I will call the "Murphy's Law tradition" of cinema. In other words, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong. This tradition includes the likes of "The Out-of-Towners" and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". In these movies - usually comedies - the principal characters are bedeviled by a series of obstacles which threaten to derail their plans; the obstacles range from human malfeasance to natural disasters. As the title strongly suggests, the primary obstacles in this movie are courtesy of Mother Nature. The probability of just one of the unfortunate events is extremely low. The probability of all of them occurring within the space of two days is nonexistent. (The antecedents of this tradition predate cinema by several thousand years, of course. Remember the trials of Job, and the plagues of the Old Testament. Indeed, at one point Ben says something about waiting for the locusts to come.) As "Forces of Nature" begins, Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) and Bridget Cahill (Maury Tierney) are about to be married. Ben lives in New York; Sarah is from Savannah, Georgia, where the wedding is to take place. Everyone is on edge because a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic threatens to wreak havoc on the impending nuptials. Two days before the event, Ben boards a plane for the trip south. As luck would have it, a hapless seagull is sucked into one of the plane's engines, and it skids off the runway, resulting in minor injuries. One of the passengers is a young woman named Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock), who is en route to Florida to transact some business. Following the crash, she credits Ben with saving her life. Concerned about the possibility of another aviation mishap, they decide to share the cost of a rental car. There are no cars available, but they meet a man who already has one, and he agrees to drive them to their destinations. From this point on, the aforementioned Murphy's Law intervenes with a vengeance.If "Forces of Nature" were nothing but a succession of calamities, it would be funny, but nothing to write home about. On another level, however, it is an exceptional movie with a great deal of heart. There is a tradition for this type of movie, as well, and it includes "It Happened One Night", which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1934. The worst thing that can happen to anyone about to be married is to fall in love with someone else. Ben finds Sarah enchanting and unique, and soon he develops feelings for her. To make matters worse, nearly everyone he meets has a horror story about marriage. Before long, Ben's pre-wedding jitters turn into a panic, and he is in turmoil. The hurricane gaining strength off the coast of Georgia is nothing compared to the storm wreaking havoc on Ben's peace of mind. To paraphrase Hamlet, "To wed or not to wed, that is the question".Ben Affleck is not an especially exciting actor (in my opinion), but in this movie he is very convincing as a man in the throes of indecision. Sandra Bullock is terrific as a free spirit who turns out to have more depth than you might expect. The supporting cast is entertaining, as well, and the dialogue is witty and intelligent. If you can forgive the director and writer for straining the limits of credulity with a preposterous plot, you should find this a very funny and poignant film.

I take on board all the criticisms cited here about this film and I accept that most of them are justified, but I have to say that I had an enjoyable hour watching it (missed the first 20 minutes... cooking my tea). Yes, it is clichéd, the plot has been done many times before, the script is often disjointed and has more holes than a Swiss cheese, the characters are left half painted, the actors are playing to type (though that never hurt Bob Hope, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard, etc., etc) and elements of the story seem to be largely superfluous (the most egregious example being the climactic hurricane); but it is a romantic comedy... and I found it both romantic and gently funny in places. The weaknesses in the script and the editing can't be laid at the casts feet; and they perform really well. Sandra Bullock and Benn Affleck's romance isn't the most believable you'll come across, but they do work well together and have the chemistry needed to carry the heavily flawed plot. It also should be noted that very little in the story is believable; so much so that, at one point, Affleck and Bullock arrive at a bank where Ben Affleck is due to pick up some money that will enable them to get to Savannah, only to find the bank engulfed in flames. They turn to each other and laugh at the sheer improbability of it all; it's as if the characters are momentarily saying to the audience, "yeah! we know that you know that it's all so fantastical and contrived... so don't worry, it's meant to be". Lazy script writing or a foray into the realm of magical realism? The former I suspect, but the film obviously set out to have a fairy tale quality about it, and it has enough charm, wit and warmth to compensate for the holes in the script. Sadly many of the comical shoots do seem to inexplicably wither before they get a chance to bear fruit, but the comedy is without exception well-played by the cast. It just needed tighter scripting.I can't believe it has such a poor rating on IMDb - it has many faults, but I was contented to spend an hour-and-a-half watching Sandra Bullock looking lovely and being charming and witty on screen. Compared to so much of the exploitative, clichéd, adolescent, emotionally empty, fantasy violence out there that gets higher ratings, 'Forces of Nature' is Palm D'Or material... maybe it's rather naff title hasn't helped it...

Forces of Nature is a very unusual romantic comedy. Unusual in that it seems determined to avoid all the natural conventions you would expect from the genre. In fact as I watch it, there's something about the film that places it just a little outside the mainstream. I don't mean it would be embraced by the indie crowd. Especially with stars like Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck at the helm. But it is not your standard rom-com.Forces of Nature is a film that borrows a few plot lines from the superb Planes, Trains & Automobiles. But instead of a businessman trying to get home for Thanksgiving saddled with an annoying travelling companion, instead we have a man trying to get to his wedding, and meets a free spirited woman along the way who might just be the girl of his dreams.Ben Holmes (Affleck) is an uptight publisher on his way to Savannah to be married to his fiancée Bridget. But the plane he's on never even gets off the ground when a pigeon gets sucked into the engine turbine. Seated next to him is Sarah (Bullock), one of these eccentrics you tend to meet on public transportation.Ben is unwilling to wait for another flight to Savannah, and since she's headed in the same direction, Sarah wants to help Ben get to his wedding on time. But of course, their journey proves to be anything but smooth, filled with detours, jail cells and all night K-Marts.Although Forces of Nature is slightly predictable, I do have a certain affection for the film. Perhaps because it is willing to take the whole romantic comedy genre in strange directions. Sandra Bullock, one of my favourite actresses, is no stranger to rom-coms. But in this film, she plays a slightly more edgier character than what I've seen of her previous work.Sarah is the complete opposite of Ben. Where he is a tense, uncertain man who has to think everything through, Sarah is an impulsive, free-thinking spirit who goes with the flow. But her willingness to be so spontaneous sometimes leads to problems. Like the scene when a train they're on stops in the middle of the track, and she actually climbs on top of one of the carriages and invites Ben up just to feel alive. But the carriages are uncoupled and they end up seriously sidetracked.Forces of Nature does have some unexpected depth. Granted the screenplay is a little contrived the way it keeps throwing up obstacles to prevent Ben from reaching his wedding. Its all designed to keep Ben and Sarah in each others company. But that comes with the territory. And we do find out some surprising things about Sarah over the course of the film.Naturally of course, the more time Ben and Sarah spend with each other, they begin to open up to each other, and a strange sort of attraction develops. But not exactly love. Sarah helps Ben to loosen up, and Ben begins to question whether or not marriage is such a good idea now. But FON raises some fascinating and unexpected left field turns.Ben believes he may be falling in love with Sarah, but she doesn't agree. After all, they've only known each other for inside of two days. How could he possibly love a complete stranger who only just walked into his life a short time ago? She helps Ben to reexamine his feelings for Bridget, and make the right choice in the end.FON is never as outright funny as it should be. But then maybe its not trying to be. It tries to ground the trappings of a romantic comedy in more serious surroundings. Its nowhere near as successful as the wonderful Lost in Translation, but FON does have some pleasant surprises in store. Bullock is terrific, and plays one of her most fascinating characters to date, and although Affleck is as stolid as ever, at least its in keeping with the character he's supposed to be playing.The ending is a little downbeat, especially for Sarah's character. I genuinely did feel real sadness for her in the end. Bullock does such a great job of fleshing out Sarah's character I was left with genuine concern over her future.Forces of Nature is no classic, but it does have some unexpected merits. It would be a shame if it faded into obscurity.