This movie is a fun mystery with all the elements I enjoy - one of my favorites in a long list of good movies. The chemistry between the main characters is very good. I like that I knew the two would get together, and throughly enjoyed that their getting together was so entertaining. He said she said, was tasteless and full of junk John Hughes' style, and this one is way better than that one, even if Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins are two good actors, and it had one scene that is a memory in itself...The main reason I like it, though, is that the idea of news reporters actually digging into a story because there is something being hidden is a nice thought. I rarely see a news story these days that I feel like they have even made any effort. They sure don't follow up with anything locally so this movie is a nice difference. I realize there were complaints by some that there was too much going on and that the story didn't follow one thing, but that's kind of the way that movies go. There was the main story being chased by two reporters that were rivals and had an obvious attraction. The "love story" is kind of behind the scenes which is better in my opinion because it is really more of an action suspense movie anyway. The humor is OK but not horrible. It is a 90's movie so you can't expect it to be as good as one from nowadays! Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Peter Brackett (Nick Nolte) is an over-confident womanizing veteran reporter on the Chicago Chronicle with a new book out. He is told to cover a train crash and is scooped by the young cub reporter Sabrina Peterson (Julia Roberts) from the rival Chicago Globe. Their professional rivalry is put on hold when a conspiracy puts them in danger and the bad guys start shooting. Their combative relationship leads them to fall in love.The chemistry is bad and that's before I read about how Nolte and Roberts didn't get along. I actually like Julia saying that he has no chance. This would be good as a non-rom-com. The age difference is a big part of it. There is a definite ick factor involved. Second, I don't get the comedy part of rom-com. The movie has little kids getting on the train and then the train crashes. Any comedy is dead right off the bat with the possible dead kids. This could be a thrilling investigation but the movie keeps jamming the rom-com at the audience. The constant light comedic tone is horribly distracting. The two hour running time is also 30 minutes too long.

When a train crash happens, veteran newspaperman Peter Brackett is sent from the Tribune to cover the story despite him being a columnist. At the scene of the crash he meets the beautiful young reporter Sabrina Peterson who he tries to hit on without much success, before dismissing her as an inexperienced youth. The next morning she scoops him in the Globe, getting an angle on the story that he didn't have. This sparks a rivalry between the two journalists but, as they find out more about the story they find themselves in mortal danger and are forced to form an uneasy partnership.In case you are film-illiterate, this film has even called a character `Thin Man' to help you realise what it is clearly aspiring to be. The fast talking, battling characters aspire to be like those in the Thin Man series. However the main problem here is that this film has none of the wit, spark or fun of that series at it's best; instead it is all a bit lifeless and flat. The plot is good but it doesn't decide to be a mystery thriller until very late in the game; the final set piece is good but, because the film had been aiming for `playful' up till that point, it just doesn't work out well and it can't just suddenly create tension out of nowhere.The rest of the film tries to be light and witty but it doesn't manage it either. A major fault in this regard is with the script; it doesn't have any really good lines or sequences. As much as I accept that Woody Allen is not everyone's cup of tea, he would have been the perfect part of a writing team here - witty dialogue in The Thin Man style is really his thing. The other problem is with the cast. Nolte and Roberts may both be big names, but they sadly have ZERO chemistry and this is a big problem. The two have no lines and their lack of spark just makes it worse, to compare this with the Thin Man series does that a great disservice. The support cast fares a bit better and contains quite a few famous faces such as Rubinek, Rebhorn, Loggia, Dukakis, Levy, Martin Smith and Gleason. They all do OK but they can't help the failings in the script, atmosphere and in the two stars.Overall this is just about watchable but it's hard to ignore what it clearly intended to be. It is pretty much a big failure as it fails to amuse, excite or entertain on anywhere near the level that it was aiming for.

I have this movie on tape and no matter how many times I watch it, I can't seem to understand how the movie goes from one point to another. I guess because it bores me to tears sometimes and catches my interest at others. The rivalry is ridiculous because you know from the start it's the age-old Hollywood "I hate you-I love you" competition. You knew from the moment they were introduced, they were gonna get together. The competition was more of who can annoy each other the worst? *SPOILER* When they accidentally got married in Vegas to outrun a guy who looked like Inspector Gadget was far far too absurd. The background story seemed to develop out of nowhere with all the answers at the end. Crazy "wild goose chase" kinda movie, but not too bad. I watched it more than once at least.