Movie Review: Stuck on You

Stuck on You

I don't know of too many people that didn't see the previews for There's Something About Mary and think it looked really stupid. I also don't know of too many people who, after having seen the movie, didn't think it was hysterical. So I had high hopes for the Farrelly Brothers' latest movie, Stuck on You. Unfortunately, although I kept hoping, the movie ended before it ever realized its promise.

Stuck on You is the story of Bob and Walt Tenor (Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear), twins conjoined by a strip of flesh at the waist and a shared liver. The two have grown up in Martha's Vineyard and have successfully pursued almost all of their interests. Bob is an athlete whose hockey and football exploits are local legend; Walt is an actor who puts on a popular show once a year for all of the pair's friends and neighbors. Bob is the shy twin whose girlfriend is a Los Angeles woman he met on the Internet and who he has, after three years "together," still never met. Walt, on the other hand, is an outgoing ladies' man. Together, they own and cook for the Quickieburger restaurant. But Walt yearns for more, and he talks Bob into going to Hollywood where Walt can try to live his dream of becoming a real actor.

Once in California, the two befriend April (Eva Mendes), a starlet who lives in their apartment building, and sign up with a retiree named Morty (Seymour Cassel) to act as their agent. Still, getting an acting job proves a little more difficult than Walt had hoped it would be, at least until a chance encounter, with Cher (who plays herself), proves to be Walt's big break. Meanwhile, Bob has a golden opportunity to meet his Internet girlfriend, but is reluctant to do so for some reason...

Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear both seem to be having a really good time in this movie, and Cher is a hoot basically doing a send-up of every stereotype assigned to her over the years, from being something of a diva to her tendency toward dating younger men. The supporting cast is also able. The problem here is a script that's only occasionally funny. The film is mildly entertaining, and does offer a few good laughs. But it's not even remotely the movie that There's Something About Mary was, and that's too bad because this cast is far more capable of delivering if only they had had material worthy of them.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Stuck on You is rated PG-13 for its crude and sex-related humor as well as a few instances of rough language. One of the friends I saw the movie with was a 13 year-old, and he seemed to think much of what was onscreen was beneath him. I don't see any problem with those 12 and up seeing this movie, other than the fact they're as likely to be disappointed by it as I was. Stuck on You is okay, but if you want to see a funny movie, go see Bad Santa.