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Two Weeks Notice Review By Shawn McKenzie 12/25/2002 Everyone around me has been dogging me about giving higher marks to chick flicks lately than hardcore geek staples. I’m sorry, but if I have a better time in a theater with a chick flick than the latest Star Trek or Lord of the Rings, I’m going to say so. In my opinion, Two Weeks Notice is the second best chick flick of the year, right behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is a single lawyer who inherited her community activist way of thinking from her hippie lawyer parents Ruth (Dana Ivey) and Larry (Robert Klein.) For that reason, she takes it upon herself to try to prevent the demolition of different landmark buildings in New York with her friends, Meryl (Heather Burns) and Tom (Jonathan Dokuchitz), although their protest actions are fruitless and land them in jail often. After her latest stint in jail (after being bailed out by her easily forgiving parents), Lucy is determined to meet millionaire developer George Wade (Hugh Grant) and give him her direct opinion of what his company is doing. George is only half an owner in Wade Industries. He is a freewheeling party boy whose main responsibility is to be the pretty face of the company and deliver inspiring speeches. His brother Howard (David Haig), the owner of the other half of the business, runs most of the boring businessy parts of the business. George needs a new Chief Counsel (since he tends to always hire flighty female attorneys who he ends up sleeping with) and decides on the spot that Lucy would be perfect for the job (since she is a hot female, but smart as well.) She turns the job down at first, but ends up taking it (since he is the enemy), because his generous salary offer (that her dad says will come in handy for bail money) and his promise not to tear down the Long Island Community Center changes her mind. The other thing about the job that attracts her is that she will have his company's resources at her disposal to help other charitable causes. Time goes on, and she is the best lawyer he has ever had, but he seems to treat her more like a personal assistant than a lawyer. One day George interrupts her appearance in Meryl and Tom’s wedding with an “emergency,” which turns out to be that he can’t decide what suit to wear to a speech. She becomes fed up and gives him two weeks notice. He's shocked at first, since he has become dependant on her opinion of everything, and blocks her attempt to find a new job at first, but eventually gives in and allows her to interview potential replacements for her job. This includes June Carter (Alicia Witt), who's fresh out of law school. June’s flirtatious manner makes Lucy jealous and she starts to think that maybe she has more than professional feelings for George.
First off, I’ve noticed that there are two kinds of chick flicks. The first kind is the weepy tearjerker kind (usually involving someone dying.) The second kind is what this movie was, a screwball comedy with a romantic angle. I thought that this movie was very funny in addition to being sweet. Unfortunately, for both of the main actors, Bullock and Grant, they are in a romantic movie rut. When they try other genres, it usually fails (witness Murder by Numbers and Extreme Measures.) That is their problem though, because when you can do something well, do it often!
There’s honestly not a lot to say about Two Weeks Notice, other than it is worth seeing. You would really have to stretch to find a lot of fault in this movie, since it does its job of entertaining you. I think if your girlfriend or
wife drags you to see this movie, you won’t want to chew your leg off to get out of the theater. Ratings System:
SEE THIS MOVIE!
Catch this movie at the theater if you can...
Wait until it comes out on video...
Wait until it plays on HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc...
Demand your money back, even if you saw it for free! |
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