Bounce | | Cast : | Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow | | Director : | Don Roos | | Studio : | Miramax Home Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned | | Released Date : | November 15, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | January 04, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | Rebound | Content
 | BOUNCE has a straightforward screenplay that, with a different cast and director, might pass as a typical romantic comedy. But, it fares slightly better with Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow under the baton of screenwriter/director Don Roos. The film benefits from Affleck's choice to accentuate his characters faults and he even accomplishes a certain amount of charm for his efforts. Similarly, Paltrow approached her single mother role by taking the focus away from her good looks and placing it on her winning personality. Director Roos also placed the films main conflict close to the public's conscience as it focuses on a plane crash.
In a crowded airport filled with anxious passengers awaiting the resumption of flights, Affleck's Buddy gives his airline ticket to a guy he met in the bar. When he hears that the plane crashed in Kansas, he proceeds to find the widow to make sure she is okay. With his secret firmly pounding in his head, he meets and falls for the charming young mother. As expected, the secret eventually gets out and then a decision must be made.
The film does tug at the heartstrings but does at times lean too close to manipulation. Quite often the romantic scenes push a bit too far, bringing it close to the dreaded "Chick Flick". The DVD offers a commentary and a little behind the scenes doc featuring Ben and Gwyneth as well as a gag reel. But when it is all said and done, BOUNCE is an Independent film with a smart production design. Enjoy the film, but if you don't, you'll probably bounce back.
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| Rating | | | Date | May 29, 2005 | | Summary | Gee. I'd Mis My Flight For A Date With Natasha Henstridge!! | Content
| In this movie we see Buddy, played by Ben Affleck who gives up his seat on his flight so he can have sex with the character played by the GORGEOUS Natasha Henstridge who we last saw in Species. What Buddy actually does for a living is anybody's guess. He seems to spend a lot of time drinking Scotch and talking on his cell phone in the back seat of a limo. Sadly the plane that Buddy would have been on crashes and then he is on some sort of "Redemption Hunt" to find the widow of the pasenger that he gave his seat too. Somebody should tell Buddy there is a whole world of difference between being "Attentive" and Stalking. I give this movie 5 stars because I do like Ms. Henstridge. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 12, 2005 | | Summary | Have to agree... | Content
| Ben is one of my favorite actors...but this film was not one of his best...but it was not terrible...I have to give him that! The plot was interesting, but very unbelievable to say the least!! I found Gwenyth's character to be just a down right bleep!! I have a problem with the fact that Buddy decides he is going to do whatever he can to find this poor widow, and tracks her down...STALKER!! Falls in love??? Please!! But I have to say that Ben's character (Buddy) poured his heart out to this ungreatful Abby!!
Abby lies about her husband death...claims they got divorced...just cause it sounds better...and "everyone is divorced". BLAH!! Save it baby!! But when Buddy tells her something...the story changes!! I am not saying that this picture is a waste of time to watch...but just be aware that the script is not consistent. Good actors...with little to work on...have to agree with other reviews (for the most part). |
| Rating | | | Date | December 09, 2004 | | Summary | A sweet story! | Content
| This movie is so good!! It is such a sweet, well thought-out plot and Ben Affleck and Gwenyth Paltrow did so well!!! The story was so great one of the best things about the movie!! I would highly recomend this one. It is great too because it is not a comedy. I do not particularly like comedies so I was so glad when this one turned out to be just a wonderful romance and not a romantic comedy!!! I was quite entrigued from the begining. I don't want to give anything away, so I won't say more than I would definitely buy this one it is wonderful!!!! |
| Rating | | | Date | October 16, 2004 | | Summary | Earnest and dreary | Content
| On a very basic level, this movie is just...wrong. "Bounce" has interesting characters and ideas floating around in it, but this is one of those movies whose plot would be over with in about fifteen minutes if the characters just behaved with some common sense and reacted appropriately to the given situations. Instead we get a script by Don Roos which tries to manufacture drama where there is none. The setup for the relationship between Ben Affleck's Buddy and Gwyneth Paltrow's Abby is somewhat involved, but intriguing: Buddy gives his plane ticket to a stranger named Greg, so Greg can get home a little earlier to his family for Christmas and Buddy can stay in Chicago with his lovely new acquaintance Mimi and her overnight room voucher. The next morning Buddy is horrified to learn that the plane crashed and Greg, who was in Buddy's intended seat, was killed. Buddy's survivor guilt makes sense, but his subsequent alcoholism and rehab are never given the weight they should have been given in the story - when was the last time you saw a movie character's descent into alcoholism depicted by a few shots of that character holding a glass? (The script also has the airline company using Buddy's ad firm to design a series of spots which actually CALL ATTENTION to the crash - reality check please!) When he decides to visit Greg's widow (Abby) a year later, to make amends as part of his 12 step program, Buddy doesn't tell her who he is, and this for me doesn't wash: there is no reason for him not to tell her, and the characters could still have entered into a romance from a different (and more interesting) perspective. But instead they're playing "I've Got A Secret". Abby later overreacts melodramatically when she learns about Buddy's connection to Greg's death, because he LIED to her. Of course she lied too - she first tells Buddy she's divorced, and when she later owns up to being a widow, the reason she gives for lying is pretty lame. The keeping-secrets aspect of the plot is illogical - these people are looking for closure of some sort, after all - and it makes the movie seem very formulaic and contrived. There was a good story to be had with these characters, but sadly Don Roos never found it. If he had spent more time showing us the intervening year after the crash, from both characters' POV's, and then let Buddy and Abby cut to the emotional chase when they finally do meet, the movie would have had more of an interesting and substantial arc - instead it's obviously been designed primarily to keep Affleck and Paltrow onscreen together as much as possible.
A little relief from them would have been a nice thing. This is born out by the DVD edition's disc two, which contains deleted scenes fleshing out some of the supporting characters and clarifying some of the plot - it also includes two alternate endings, both of which are better than the one finally chosen for the theatrical release. I'm not sure whether Roos or Miramax made the cutting room decisions, but the deleted scenes contain much better dialogue than a lot of the scenes that did make it into the final cut. This is partially because almost all the scenes involve Affleck or Paltrow talking with supporting characters, rather than to each other - the movie really suffers by the exclusion of these scenes, and it was almost a mistake for Miramax to include them on the disk, since they left this viewer thinking "there was a much better movie here and they blew it!" The supporting characters are played by great actors who are edited down or essentially wasted. Joe Morton, Jennifer Grey (whose character really deserved more screen time), Natasha Henstridge, Caroline Aaron, and David Paymer all do well with the bones they're thrown. Tony Goldwyn does make a very likeable impression as Greg, and Johnny Galecki is a real standout as Buddy's assistant Seth, who is also a member of AA: the deleted scenes involving this character reinforce how exceptionally good Galecki is in the role, but they also confirm that Roos had no idea how to use him in the film. The subject of AA is brought up several times: It would have been cool to see Buddy confronting some of his demons at a meeting, but although this carrot is waved at the audience, we never do get it -- the whole AA angle is just another plot device, as is the airline lawsuit trial, which could really have provided a jolt of dramatic interest if it had been handled better.
As for the stars' performances: well I've never been a Ben Affleck fan, but he actually gives this a valiant effort and has some good moments - if he's not totally convincing in his more emotional scenes, it's at least partially due to the weak writing. Paltrow is excellent, fighting the easy cliche of her role and bringing lots of original shadings to it. She's also much better than Affleck at transcending the clunky dialogue - both of their characters are given stuff to say that I can't imagine anyone in this situation in real life actually saying.
Roos does contribute some nice directorial touches: the plane crash, for instance, is handled in a refreshingly minimalist way, as is the bedroom scene between the leads - it really plays as a love scene for the characters, rather than as a voyeuristic opportunity for the audience. On the technical side, the movie is beautifully shot, as was Roos' previous "The Opposite Of Sex" - I'm not sure if it's the same cinematographer, but whatever else you say about the movie, "Bounce" looks great. The melancholy sound track is unoriginal and bland, with the occasional dreary alternative-folk-rock song thrown in for good measure. Dreary is a good word to describe this flick - it's very earnest, and very dreary. It's hard to categorize it in one or two words (which is not necessarily a bad thing) - "Bounce" is certainly not a romantic comedy, but calling it a drama only belies how basically UN-dramatic it is. I know a lot of people really like this movie, but if you haven't seen it, rent it first to make sure you're one of them, before you buy it. |
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