Divorce courting

The Laws of Attraction
PG-13
Starting tomorrow at area theaters
Two reels out of four

The French have an expression that’s so, well, French. It’s je ne sais quoi and it means "a certain something" (or, literally, "I don’t know what"). It is an intangible quality that is sometimes more conspicuous by its absence than its presence. All the great movie stars have it. Great novels have it. You might even know a person who has it.

The Laws of Attraction is an admirable attempt at making a romantic comedy for people over 35. It has a clever script, two talented and attractive leads and strong direction. What it doesn’t have is je ne sais quoi.

Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) and Audrey Miller (Julianne Moore) are the finest divorce lawyers in New York City and often find themselves on opposite ends of the courtroom. When Audrey represents rock star Thorne Jamison (Michael Sheen), naturally Daniel ends up representing Thorne’s estranged wife, Serena (Parker Posey). When a beautiful Irish castle becomes the sticking point in the divorce, both lawyers fly over to investigate.

Things get just a bit complicated when, after attending a village celebration, the two nemeses wake up married to each other. Where’s a good divorce lawyer when you need one?

Laws of Attraction has an interesting premise, and could have produced something quite special. Yet too many opportunities are squandered. When Audrey and Daniel go to Ireland, you expect them to be taken in by the magic of the village, yet that is not explored. Even the music — which in movies about Ireland is usually a character unto itself — is "Hollywood" Irish. What, the Chieftans were too busy to help out?

Of course, you can’t have a romantic comedy without a couple and here, the film has two problems. The biggest is there is very little chemistry between the two leads. A romantic comedy without chemistry is like a baseball team without pitching: It won’t get you very far.

The other problem is Moore. She is one of Hollywood’s finest actresses and surely will own an Oscar one of these days. But she is simply wrong for the part. Yes, she looks and acts like a New York City divorce lawyer, and if a movie was made about a similar character having a doomed affair with her client while battling cancer, she’s your girl. But Moore has neither the chops nor the heat to pull this off.

Last year, Something’s Gotta Give proved that the romantic comedy is alive and well, and not just for young people. The Laws of Attraction proves that, as in all romances, either there’s chemistry or there isn’t. This time there isn’t.

Recommended rental

The Last Samurai
R
Available Tuesday

In an era where The Lord of the Rings has redefined the motion-picture epic, the bar has been raised considerably. So occasionally movies slip past that in any other era would have been praised to the stars. Such is the case with The Last Samurai. Tom Cruise plays Nathan Algren, a career soldier in the late 19th century who has been hired to train Japan’s army for battle against feared samurai warlord Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe). When Katsumoto’s men capture Algren, the soldier finds that he is not so different from the samurai. A beautiful, tragic film.