"Ben & Gwen 'Bounce' Back"
by Scott Mantz

"Bounce"
Ben Affleck,
Gwyneth Paltrow
Directed by Don Roos

Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow share a moment in "Bounce"

Making a great movie is a lot like cooking a great meal. Think of the script as the recipe and the director as the chef. Mix in a few accomplished actors as if they were ingredients, stir it up with some real Hollywood magic, and viola! The box office equivalent of a tasty dish.

OK, seriously. While that may be a very simple (and rather odd) approach to the moviemaking process, the fact is, sometimes all it takes is a good chemical reaction between the main ingredients for the film to work. Fortunately for "Bounce," chemistry is something that Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow have plenty of, and the result is a powerful and well-acted movie that takes a closer look at the ultimate paradox between love, fate, and redemption.

Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck) is a hotshot advertising exec who's anxious to get back to Los Angeles, but bad weather has him trapped in Chicago. While passing time, he strikes up a conversation with Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn), a struggling writer who also wants to get home to his wife and kids. Buddy performs a random act of kindness (actually, he just wants to nail some chick he met at a bar), and he gives his plane ticket to Greg. When the plane crashes, Buddy's guilt-ridden conscience throws him into an alcoholic tailspin.

Six months later, Buddy emerges from rehab to put his life back together, and he starts by checking up on Greg's widow Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow). Obviously, they hit it off, and what started out as a simple act of redemption turns into a full-blown love affair. The problem is, as their relationship blossoms, Buddy finds it increasingly difficult to tell Abby the truth.

After making his name with the critically acclaimed dark comedy "The Opposite of Sex," director Don Roos makes a film that goes much deeper than the generic chick-flick fare of "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back." Buddy and Abby are both incredibly vulnerable in light of recent events, but the progression of the film leaves you filled with conflicting impulses. On one hand, you want Buddy and Abby to end up together, but on the other hand, you know that can't happen until Buddy fesses up. If he does that, it's bye-bye Abby.

Hollywood takes its chances when pairing off celebrities, and sometimes it just doesn't work. Examples of this include Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones in "Entrapment," and, more recently, Richard Gere and Winona Ryder in "Autumn in New York." One example of where it did work was on TV's "Moonlighting." Who cares if Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd didn't get along--when they were on the screen, sparks flew so much that they almost exploded the TV set. "Bounce" is another example of where the chemistry works, and when you consider that Affleck and Paltrow used to, ahem, share some chemistry themselves, it makes perfect sense.

Affleck puts the popcorn fodder of films like "Armageddon" and "Reindeer Games" behind him, and he gives Buddy a deep, almost crippling, conscience. Not since "Chasing Amy" has he been able to sink his teeth into a colorful role, and the result is his best performance in years. Gwyneth Paltrow can seemingly do no wrong (that is, if you don't count "Duets"), and she plays one of the most genuine characters of her impressive career (next to "Sliding Doors"). She slowly picks up the pieces of her shattered life, and the result is a non-glamorous role that adds validity to her performance.

OK, now back to the food reference. There are some films that leave a bad taste in your mouth, and there are others that leave you hungry for more. Think of "Bounce" as a fine wine. If you're patient with it and savor its flavor, it'll stay with you long after the film is finished. In light of the upcoming holiday season, if you've already started your wish list, make sure that seeing "Bounce" is on it.

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