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Year:   1999
Studio: DreamWorks SKG
Movie:  3/5
DVD:    2/5

Teaser

Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) is going to be married in a couple of days, if only he can reach Atlanta in time. First there was the "plane crash", then a road trip with a drug user, a train trip gone awry, a bus trip with a bunch of retirees, and all the while accompanied by Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock), a fellow airplane passenger whom he saved and who now both wants to repay him and needs him for her own purposes.

As Ben and Sarah proceed through the road trip from hell, Ben continually tries to work on his wedding vows. But he soon starts to wonder -- meeting all these people and spending time with Sarah -- how does a person know if they've met "the one"? What if Bridget, his bride to be (played by Maura Tierney), is not the person for him and Sarah is?

Movie

"Forces of Nature" combines a road trip movie with a romantic comedy movie to fairly good results. The forces of nature in the movie are not so much nature as much as fate. Events just seem to conspire against Ben getting to his wedding on time. But it gives more time for his attraction to Sarah to grow. And it's not Sarah's fault. As she herself says, Ben has been through a lot in two days and the feelings he may have for her are as much from shock as anything else.
There were a couple of really nice stylized weather scenes. One is the rain storm where the rain and hail are falling at a much slower speed than the live footage. Same for the hurricane scene with Ben and Bridget in the eye of this slow and surreal storm.

Actors

Ben Affleck can do anything. As Kevin Smith says "Ben is perfect for any part. The shark for the next Jaws movie: Ben Affleck." Sandra Bullock is also a great actress. She's not the most beautiful woman in the world, but she exudes a spunky sexiness. Maura Tierney didn't have much of a role but she did show how Ben could have fallen for Bridget. Steve Zahn has a small role as Alan, Ben's Best Man. It's a comedic role and he played it well.

DVD

I really wanted a commentary track, alas there is none. Some deleted scenes which at least are new scenes for the most part rather than slightly different versions of existing scenes. There is also a three minute behind the scenes featurette.

Recommendations

I liked this movie. You should watch it.
Copyright (c) 2003 Kevin C. Wong
Page Created: November 29, 2003 Page Last Updated: November 29, 2003