One Fine Day (Michelle Pfeiffer, George Clooney)

(Amazon UK link)

This is another film I had not heard of until Amazon recommended it to me. I read a few reviews and added it to my wishlist, and was given it for a recent birthday.

The broad plot is the classic strife-ridden romantic scenario: dislike at first sight, several conflicts, and an eventual realisation of falling in love. However, there's a twist in that the action happens with accompanying small children.

The main protagonists Jack (George Clooney) and Melanie (Michelle Pfeiffer) are divorcees whose children, due to confusion and mix-ups, manage to miss a school field trip. Both adults have important days at work, and limited childcare options...

The pace of the film works well, and the humour is understated but made us chuckle aloud a couple of times. Several of the several humorous moments are due to the cleverly choreographed actions of young Sammy (Alex D Linz), who almost entirely stole the show, as far as I was concerned.

But there's also great chemistry between the two adults, each of whom assumes the other is like their ex-spouse. And there's a nice turning of the tables where the controlling Melanie manages to be clumsy and irresponsible, while the supposedly irresponsible Jack manages to deal with the children well, and (unlikely though it seems) uncovers a mafia-style plot in passing.

There's nothing deep or particularly thought-provoking, but it was well done and made an enjoyable evening's viewing. The refreshing lack of violence, bedroom scenes or bad language means that this is entirely suitable for children; the PG rating makes sense, since I doubt if it would be of much interest to anyone under the age of about 12.

Review copyright 2014 Sue's DVD Reviews