Unless you can imagine a romantic-comedy heroine as a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Rain Man, chances are you haven’t met a rom-com character quite like Sandra Bullock in “All About Steve.”
Her name is Mary Horowitz, and she writes the crossword puzzle for a Sacramento newspaper. In her thigh-high red boots and her inexplicable shag haircut, she’s one of those very intelligent people who march to their own drummers.
The plot device is thus: Mary gets set up on a blind date with a TV cameraman named Steve (Bradley Cooper, of “The Hangover”), which lasts about 15 minutes. Convinced that he has invited her to accompany him on an out-of-state job, Mary begins a quest to find him again that borders on stalking.
Steve works with a blow-dried, bottle-tanned reporter, played by Thomas Haden Church in a bit of ideal casting. As they traipse about the Southwest covering various tabloid disasters, Mary follows.
At some point the movie becomes a satire on the vapid nature of TV journalism, which, while a worthy target, drags the focus away from Bullock’s nutty geek. She’s such a one-note character that it might have been hard to fashion the entire picture around her, but she is the most original thing going here.
And quite a change from Bullock’s customary excursions of late. Mary Horowitz is so exaggerated compared to most “chick flick” heroines, I can easily imagine audiences being repelled and/or bewildered by her. Much the same way the hapless Steve reacts.
The whole thing really doesn’t click, and it’ll be interesting to see if audiences go for it. It’s generally accepted for a male star to be this out-there; you can imagine Steve Martin in his prime doing a part like this (“The Jerk,” for instance), and Jim Carrey does it all the time.
But even though Sandra Bullock’s comic credentials are well established, I wonder if she can get away with it. Give her and director Phil Traill points for something different.
And the title? The play on “All About Eve” is inspired by Mary’s crossword puzzle devoted entirely to Steve, where every clue is about him (what’s a four-letter word for Steve’s eye color?). Sorta funny and sorta creepy, just like this movie.
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