Can a film be a post-feminist deconstruction of the male ego and a romantic comedy at the same time? Apparently not if the mixed results of Tony Goldwyn's Animal Attraction is anything to go by. Jane (Ashley Judd) is a New York media luvvie who's unlucky in love. Ditched by the flash-in-the-pan love of her life Rag (Greg Kinnear) she takes her revenge on the male species' fear of commitment by writing a column in a men's magazine. Posing as a anthropologist she expounds her theory of cows and bulls-a bull will only mate with a cow once, after that he searches for new partners. Could this explain why men are so bad at monogamy?
Based on the novel Animal Husbandry by Laura Zigman, but borrowing substantially from Sex and the City, Animal Attraction wants to be as chic as its TV counterpart but never quite manages to talk the talk or walk the walk. At heart it's little more than a traditional and rather flat love story. But the self-consciously "post-feminist" thrust can't quite be reconciled with the mawkish "will they won't they" relationship between Judd and her sexually voracious roommate (Hugh Jackman, looking sadly ordinary without Wolverine's adamantine claws or bouffant hairstyle). Quite how Jane's "revelatory" comparison of bulls to men comes to be taken so seriously is never explained. Where has this woman been for the last twenty years?
At its best when pursuing the comedy rather than the romance or social commentary, Animal Attraction rarely manages to combine its various elements into a coherent whole. The only real winner here is New York City that, for the first time in ages, is made to look beautiful, fun and romantic. Everything that the film isn't, then.
Reviewed by Jamie Russell
Reader comments about Animal Attraction
Tinabap (misslittleplayful@hotmail.com) writes:
It is a typical comedy which gives you a laugh and you can drool over the leading men. ideal for a quiet night in. Ashely Judd excellent as the leading lady who is desperate to find love. Very good movie.
gemma moore (gemma_moore80@hotmail.com) writes:
great film made me appreciate hugh jackmans animal attraction
Yokarine Castrillo (aafreqflyr@aol.com) writes:
I thought this was a great movie. Very funny! I believe this is Tony Goldwyn's second film as a director. Excellent job. Keep up the good work Mr. Goldwyn
Xandria (Email address withheld) writes:
Such a cute film. Really liked Jane's thoughts projected by the TV newscasters or the text flashes. Am now even more in the throes of a teenage crush (Hugh Jackman) than I was following X-Men.
Gemma Moore (gemmamoore_9@hotmail.com) writes:
Animal Attraction is a typical girl's film. The story ain't great but it's good for a night in with the girls and Hugh Jackman is always a big plus!!!
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