Getting Hal (2003) User Reviews

Funny, Flawed Comedy

[critic_at_large · 10/10 · 10 February 2003]

This film has funny moments, but its odd structure distances the viewer and prevents a greater payoff in the end. The premise for this film is serviceable (girl meets boy, boy rips off girl, girl and cohorts hunt down and attack boy), but it is arranged in an unconventional manner that just doesn't work for me. Act I of a comedy is typically where we get to know the hero and villain in their state before the first major reversal. And, consistent with this classic structure, Lanza (the hero) and Rowe (the villain) are portrayed in the opening scene as a happy couple well on their way to comedic bliss. But the reversal comes a very short time later and the exposition of their pre-reversal relationship comes only in an abbreviated, fast-motion flashback. Had the flashback footage been slowed down and placed at the front of the film, I might have been drawn deeper into the romance. I'm all for innovation, but in my view this structure sucks the life out of the central romantic betrayal, disengages the viewer and takes much of the satisfaction out of the ending. It also leaves Lanza, the emotional center of the film, glum and dejected for the rest of the film--which is a shame because she is interesting, extremely pretty, believeable as the girl-next-door with an edge, and a good match for the hunky Rowe (who recently served as the beefcake on NBC's short-lived "Leap of Faith" TV series). The odd story structure also leaves a gruff Brian Doyle-Murray carrying the film with a number of supporting actor setups that simply don't work, through no fault of his own. Screenwriter Doug Stuart's acting work is solid, but he seems to have saved many of the best scenes for himself (he plays a key character in the film). Brad Rowe is good in his turn as a villain, and the supporting team of Gaffney and Fielder are perfect as two dullard private investigator wannabes. Director Tony Markes (who played a great would-be actor in "Welcome to Hollywood") makes a funny cameo, and there are a number of other bits that work, but in the end, this film left me flat.