Laws of Attraction

by Jason Beazell · Published May 5, 2004 · Updated

What is the Law of attraction? Attraction is measured as gravitation,
which is the force of attraction that exists between all particles with
mass in the universe. Laws of Attraction had absolutely nothing to do with laws, gravity, or attraction. It wasn’t even a good movie.

Usually, a romantic comedy such as Laws of Attraction needs two vital components to be a good romantic comedy. It must have romance, and it must have comedy. Laws of Attraction
dismally lacked both, but was adequate at wasting at least 90 minutes
of refreshing Air Conditioning time (it was 110 degrees F when I
puddled my way into the theater).
Laws of Attraction is a story about two high profile divorce lawyers in New York. Audrey Woods, played by Julianne Moore (The Hours, Hannibal, Nine Months), grows to despise Daniel Rafferty, played by Pierce Brosnan
(Die Another Day, The Thomas Crown Affair, Dante’s Peak) as he shows
her up at every opportunity. When the two faces off in the divorce
trial of the century, the two polar opposites get drunk together, share
an evening, and wake up married the next morning. We spend half the
movie building up to the marriage and the other half of the film as
they attempt to hide, and then pretend to love each other for
publicity’s sake.

One disturbing aspect of this film is how
Daniel and Audrey do come together. Both times, Audrey has to get
really drunk, and each time, they end up having a one-night stand. In
fact, she gets so drunk, that she doesn’t remember the prior night’s
escapades. How exactly is this supposed to be the basis for a romantic
comedy? It is neither funny nor comedic, but pathetic.

I could see glimpses of genius in writer Aline Brosh McKenna’s
(Three to Tango) script, but something was missed. The characters have
ticks and neuroses that could have been well exploited. Most of the
characters were flat and uninteresting. The exception is Audrey’s
mother, Sara Miller, fantastically played by Frances Fisher (House of Sand and Fog). Fisher brought life to the otherwise sleeping film.