Paul (Sean Connery) and Hannah (Gena Rowlands) are doing a TV cooking show as the past comes back to haunt them. Gunshy playwright Meredith (Gillian Anderson) accepts a date from architect Trent (Jon Stewart). Mark (Jay Mohr) is gay and dying of AIDS. His mother Mildred (Ellen Burstyn) comes to his deathbed. Trendy club goer Joan (Angelina Jolie) tries to attract Keenan (Ryan Phillippe). Roger (Anthony Edwards) and Gracie (Madeleine Stowe) are an adulterous couple. Hugh (Dennis Quaid) tells tragic life stories to women (Patricia Clarkson, Kellie Waymire) in bars. The various stories and characters connect as they wind up in one family wedding.
Written and directed by Willard Carroll, this is a fragmented movie. There are some great actors working on this film. I really love the wild energy from Angelina Jolie. Some stories are more compelling than others. That's the nature of this kind of movie. It's a constant up and down viewing experience. I'm eager to see a few of the stories, but others drag. A couple of the stories could be cut to make space to expand the other stories. It would also be better for those characters and the emotions to play out more. The connection in the end is nothing but an exercise in writing. With the acting power gathered in this movie, there is bound to be someone in the movie for everybody.
Written and directed by Willard Carroll, this is a fragmented movie. There are some great actors working on this film. I really love the wild energy from Angelina Jolie. Some stories are more compelling than others. That's the nature of this kind of movie. It's a constant up and down viewing experience. I'm eager to see a few of the stories, but others drag. A couple of the stories could be cut to make space to expand the other stories. It would also be better for those characters and the emotions to play out more. The connection in the end is nothing but an exercise in writing. With the acting power gathered in this movie, there is bound to be someone in the movie for everybody.