Leelee Sobieski is brash, abrasive and vulnerable as a teenage child of divorce who hides her pain behind a mask of hard-edged gothic rebellion. Albert Brooks plays a man who is her total opposite, a precise and well-ordered menswear store owner of forty-nine who manages limited expectations and protects lonely secrets with pleasant ritual and quiet, ironic reserve. These two total opposites collide in conflict then come together in a surprising alliance, changing each other's lives forever.
Sobieski's performance in this role pretty much kills off the film.
– Jay Boyar,
Orlando Sentinel,
25 Oct 2001
rotten:
Franklin's gooey, implausible script is too ridiculous to support unexpected bouts of sincerity, and the darkness is seldom as profound as it should be.
– Paul Tatara,
CNN.com,
25 Oct 2001
rotten:
The sort of movie with so little faith in itself that it falls back on that most dreadful of cliches: The Fatal Development A Little More than Halfway Through.
– Connie Ogle,
Miami Herald,
19 Oct 2001
rotten:
Although the movie has its moments, it's a tearjerker that jerks too hard.