Fools Rush In
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Alex Whitman - Matthew Perry
Isabel Fuentes - Salma Hayek
Jeff - Jon Tenney
Chuy - Carlos Gomez
Tomas - Tomas Milian
Lanie - Siobhan Fallon
Richard John - Bennett Perry
Judd Marshall - Stanley DeSantis
Amalia - Anne Betancourt
Cathy Stewart - Suzanne Snyder
Nan - Jill Clayburgh
Much of the problem stems from the fact that, rather than adroitly blending comic and serious elements, pic goes one way one moment and another the next, with the filmmakers seemingly unable to settle on a tone and stick with it. Result is that the intended humorous moments aren't very funny, while the scenes stressing pathos and drama seem tentative and unconvincing.
Alex Whitman (Perry) and Isabel Fuentes (Hayek) meet cute in a bathroom line in a Las Vegas Mexican restaurant. The relatively straight-laced Alex is in Nevada from New York for a few months to supervise construction of a new nightclub, while the beautiful Isabel, most of whose family lives in town, toils in a casino to earn enough cash to subsidize her work as a serious photographer.
The two spend a fleeting night together, and, three months later, Isabel turns up at Alex's door to announce that she's pregnant, he's the father, and she intends to have the baby. Although Isabel asks for nothing, Alex wants to explore the ramifications of this startling news further, a process that begins with meeting her family, headed by her belligerent father (Tomas Milian).
Impulsively, the two marry at a quickie wedding chapel, with Elvis giving Isabel away, whereupon the differences between them begin to appear: She's Catholic, he's Presbyterian; she's open and fun-loving, he's pretty stiff; he needs to return to New York for work, but she wants to remain in Vegas; she believes in signs and fate, while he's awfully practical.
More crucially, Alex has a terrible time serving up difficult news, especially if he imagines the recipient will react badly. By the time his parents show up for a surprise visit, he still hasn't told them he's married, much less with a pregnant wife, for fear of their disapproval. Furthermore, after compromising with Isabel that they'll have the baby in Las Vegas but then live in Manhattan, he can't bring himself to inform Isabel that he'll need to return before the due date, leaving her to discover the news from someone else.
The biggest problem, then, is that Alex is a wimp who doesn't seem to deserve this bold, gorgeous, forthright woman. Alex's persistent mishandling of their relationship grows progressively irksome, not only to Isabel but to the viewer as well, to the point that when she insists that they're not right for each other, one is inclined to agree. Outrageously melodramatic happy ending therefore doesn't sit too comfortably, as it's difficult to imagine a terribly felicitous future for this couple, for whom nothing has come easily during what's supposed to be the most enjoyable stage of a romance.
In a role that Tom Hanks might have played a decade or so ago, Perry is pretty bland and doesn't provide any hints as to why Alex is so emotionally stymied. The stunning Hayek brings unlimited spirit to her character; if it weren't for her, there would be very little to hold one's attention here. All supporting perfs are one-note.
There are emotional and character truths lurking about in Katherine Reback's screenplay, but they are rendered more frivolous and caricatured than they needed to be. Helping to undercut the material's more serious undercurrents are some of director Andy Tennant's rather desperate gropes for laughs, most notably an episode in which Alex receives a butt-ful of cactus quills and attempts to lick some spilled liquor off a carpet.
Pic is mostly set in Vegas, with side trips to Gotham, Mexico and the Grand Canyon. Tech contributions are pro.
Camera (Technicolor), Robbie Greenberg; editor, Roger Bondelli; music, Alan Silvestri; production design, Edward Pisoni; art direction, David Crank; set design, Evelyne Barbier; set decoration, Leslie Morales; costume design, Kimberly A. Tillman; sound (Dolby/SDDS), Peter J. Devlin; associate producer, Steven P. Saeta; assistant director, Scott Printz; casting, Juel Bestrop. Reviewed at Sony Studios, Culver City, Feb. 10, 1997. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 108 MIN
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