She’s the One -

Edward Burns, who won raves for his Brothers McMullen, tackles similar material in She’s The One, and manages to make his sophomore outing a rather amiable romantic comedy. The plot centers around the exploits of two brothers. Mickey (Burns) is the ne’er do well cabbie who has been aloof since he caught his ex-fiancee sleeping with another man. His rich younger brother, Francis (Mike McGlone), is in the down-cycle in his marriage to Renee (Jennifer Aniston). For the past several months, he has been having an affair with Heather (Cameron Diaz), who just happens to be Mickey’s ex-fiancee. Mickey meets up with Hope (Maxine Bahns) in his taxicab, and she talks him into driving her from New York to New Orleans for a friends wedding. After spending one day together, the two impulsively decide to get married. Upon returning to New York, however, they both begin to have doubts. Mickey has them when he has a chance meeting with Heather…Hope when she realizes that marriage might hamper her plans to move to Paris. Edward Burns provides a steady hand behind the camera, finding a consistant tone, that while never achieving greatness, doesn’t falter either. The films best moments are in its conversations, many of them cross cut, but most offer some humorous insights into the characters and life in general. The film is a bit weaker when it comes to plotting. Some of the initial setup is rather farfetched, and the resolutions are a bit too tidy and out of the blue. However, even though it strains credibility at times, it never ceases to be amusing. Burns and McGlone give good performances as the competitive brothers. Diaz delivers a strong performance as the woman who comes between them. Aniston manages to give the film some of its biggest laughs when dealing with her husband’s problems. Maxine Bahns, however, although charming, doesn’t ever ignite the screen. John Mahoney gives a strong supporting performance as the boys’ father. This film has several similarities to McMullen, but manages to capture mostly the best of the earlier film. Overall, a good second outing for Burns, and a pretty decent film.