Written by Marc Lawrence
Directed by MarcLawrence

Every now and then a movie comes along that you end up liking even though you know you shouldn’t.  You’re a discriminating movie viewer – you’re not going to fall for all those silly plot lines and hooks, no matter what.

Yeah, right.

For me, Two Weeks Notice was one such film.  I almost always hate films where a woman’s happiness is centered around a man or having a man.  That’s especially true when the man is not worthy of the woman – when she has more to offer the relationship than he does. That’s not entirely the case in Two Weeks Notice, but it’s close enough.  Add to that a few silly plotlines, and you’ve got the makings of a mess.  Somehow the movie avoids being that mess.

Lucy Kelson (portrayed by Sandra Bullock) is a Harvard graduate attorney who usually handles cases such as public defense, human interest, community work, etc.  She’s pretty involved in her work and doesn’t really have time for a personal relationship as is shown when a long-term relationship is ended and she hardly blinks.  After protesting the development planned that will mean the wrecking ball for a beloved community center, Lucy manages to get hired by the opposition led by George Wade (portrayed by Hugh Grant).  George usually hires attorneys for his firm less based on their abilities and more based on how attracted he is to them.  He’s under fire from his brother to hire someone qualified when he decides to bring Lucy in as Chief Counsel.

Lucy becomes much more than that.  Lucy is so entrenched in George’s life that he doesn’t know how he will live without her.  George frets more about his clothes, stationery, and his divorce, depending on Lucy for advice in all these areas.  Lucy is also trying to deal with the firm’s cases.  The final straw comes when Lucy is a bridesmaid and gets an emergency page from George.  Lucy gives him her two weeks’ notice.

The remainder of the film has both of them trying to distance themselves from each other, all the while discovering the connection that’s been made.  Lucy, though, has set impossibly high standards. It’s got the usual pitfalls as Lucy pushes George away as well as the shark replacement George hires who’s mainly interested in getting him into bed.  This serves to spark Lucy’s jealousy that she didn’t expect or want to feel.

Two Weeks Notice is riddled with cliches.  There’s never a question in my mind that George and Lucy will end up together in the end.  How they get to that point isn’t any surprise, either.  So what saves the film? It’s Bullock and Grant, both in their individual talents and the chemistry they have when they are together onscreen.  The character of Lucy is a familiar one to those who have seen Bullock in other films, especially ones like While You Were Sleeping.  She’s supposed to be a sort of plain-Jane but if you’d classify her as plain, then I am butt-ugly (don’t answer that).  She doesn’t handle relationships well and sort of falls into one by mistake before she can even realize it.

Grant is the typical playboy here who’s bounced around from relationships and marriages always expecting someone else to clean up the mess for him.  He doesn’t even function all that well in the firm, but serves mostly as its public spokesman.  There’s little demanded of him and he rises to that level of mediocrity perfectly while at the same time managing to become a bit charming during the course of the film, if he’s a bit of a boor at the beginning.

Dana Ivey and Robert Klein are terrific as Lucy’s hippie-like parents.  They provide a bit of comic relief just about every young adult can relate to dealing with.  They are supportive and loving while at the same time driving her up the wall.

The DVD has a good number of extras.  The commentary includes Bullock and Grant, which makes it interesting if it seems that Bullock does the majority of the talking.  There is also a featurette of the making of the film as well as deleted scenes.

I went into Two Weeks Notice expecting to hate it. What I ended up with was a decent romantic comedy, if it is predictable. It’s not something I would say is a “must see” but it is a fun movie to watch .



SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Commentary with Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, and Director/Writer Marc Lawrence
· Documentary
· Additional Scenes
• Two Bleeps Notice (can watch movies with an indication there are outtakes and then skip over to them before cutting back to film)
• Cast & Crew Biographies
• Theatrical Trailer