Along Came Polly [P&S] DVD

Along Came Polly
Screenwriter John Hamburg directs his second film (since his 1998 debut Safe Men) with the romantic comedy Along Came Polly. Ben Stiller plays Reuben Feffer, a professional risk assessor who never takes chances in any aspect of his life. When his new bride Lisa (Debra Messing) leaves him for a European scuba instructor named Claude (Hank Azaria), he finally decides to a risk of his own. At a party, he meets free-spirited Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), whom he remembers from his seventh-grade Model U.N. Unlike the control-freak Reuben, she's spent her life living on the edge. They reluctantly begin a romance and Polly introduces him to a new world of spicy food and suggestive dances. Along Came Polly also stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as Reuben's washed-up best friend Sandy Lyle and Alec Baldwin as the obnoxious insurance company boss Stan Indursky. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Cast Ben Stiller as Reuben Feffer Jennifer Aniston as Polly Prince Philip Seymour Hoffman as Sandy Lyle Debra Messing as Lisa Kramer Alec Baldwin as Stan Indursky Hank Azaria as Claude Bryan Brown as Leland Van Lew Jsu Garcia as Javier Michele Lee as Vivian Feffer Bob Dishy as Irving Feffer

Crew Martin Whist - Art Director Kathleen Chopin - Casting Anne Fletcher - Choreography Joann Fregalette Jansen - Choreography Cindy Evans - Costume Designer Daniel Silverberg - First Assistant Director John Hamburg - Director Alex Daniels - Second Unit Director William Kerr - Editor Nick Moore - Editor Jane Bartelme - Executive Producer Dan Levine - Executive Producer Theodore Shapiro - Composer (Music Score) Randall Poster - Musical Direction/Supervision Andrew Laws - Production Designer Seamus Mcgarvey - Cinematographer Stacey Sher - Producer Michael Shamberg - Producer Danny DeVito - Producer Mary Saisselin - Set Designer Greg Berry - Set Designer Don Diers - Set Designer Illusion Arts - Special Effects Geoffrey Patterson - Sound/Sound Designer Alex Daniels - Stunts Coordinator John Hamburg - Screenwriter Larry Blanford - Second Unit Camera Greg Curtis - Special Effects Coordinator Darren King - Supervising Sound Editor Industrial Light & Magic - Visual Effects

Along Came Polly
John Hamburg had previously worked on the screenplays for Zoolander and Meet the Parents before this film, proving that he had the ability to shape material for Ben Stiller. With Along Came Polly, Hamburg graduates to the director's chair as well, and his inexperience behind the camera is noticeable. Although he takes his time and carefully establishes the failed marriage that opens the movie, the body of the film lacks continuity. There are bits of business that seem like they will payoff later but never do, and the scenes fluctuate wildly in their pacing. Although the film fails to work as a whole, there are moments that generate real laughter. Philip Seymour Hoffman uses his potent physicality to get laughs out of both an introductory pratfall and a handful of basketball scenes. In his too few scenes, Alec Baldwin finds the perfect tone as Stiller's boss, combining authority, unctuousness, insincerity, and affection in equal measure. Stiller himself is very comfortable playing this type of character -- for him it is the equivalent of an old pair of sneakers. He's fine, but he does nothing new. Jennifer Aniston could have been interesting, but aside from goading Stiller's character into coming out of his shell, she has almost nothing to play. The film glosses over her emotional issues in order to focus on Stiller's gastrointestinal issues. Along Came Polly lacks inspiration, but for all its faults, it does give the supporting performers enough room to make it better than it could have been. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
 

(no awards)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French, Spanish Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DTS: Digital Theater Systems (akin to 5.1) Additional Features: "Rodolfo Goes to Hollywood": The feisty ferret gets a fabulous makeover and attends his first Hollywood premiere Cutting Room Floor: Exclusive deleted scenes Do Overs: Outtakes, goof-ups, and other moviemakng bloopers "Making the Movie": Behind-the-scenes featurette The Inside Scoop: Movie commentary from director John Hamburg DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: PG13 DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 91 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Along Came Polly [P&S] 1. Main Titles [1:47] 2. Reuben's Marriage [4:41] 3. Claude [5:13] 4. Home Alone [6:58] 5. Polly [3:15] 6. Basketball [2:37] 7. A Date [9:19] 8. Rodolfo [2:49] 9. Mr. Van Lew [2:02] 10. Reuben's Parents [2:49] 11. Salsa [3:51] 12. The Spank [3:12] 13. Pillow Talk [2:16] 14. Dirty Dancing [8:21] 15. Lisa's Surprise [5:40] 16. Sailing a Storm [5:48] 17. Sandy Superstar [9:19] 18. Reuben and Rodolfo [2:47] 19. Back to St. Barts [1:59] 20. End Titles [5:22]