About Adam

A buoyant but dark comedy about a conspicuously charming young rake (Stuart Townsend, Shooting Fish) who seduces the offspring of an average suburban Irish family, carrying on torrid, secret affairs with all of them at the same time, About Adam is clever in that the same story is told in turn from each sibling's perspective, brimming with glib wit in both dialogue and circumstance. But throughout the picture there are nagging little problems that foreshadow a 500-pound gorilla of a debacle that makes for an insincere, inanely upbeat and clandestinely misogynistic ending. Sisters Kate Hudson, Frances O'Connor and Charlotte Bradley all sleep with this guy (as does their brother!), but the movie completely fails to explore Adam's motivation for toying with this family's affections. The fact that About Adam isn't about Adam at all turns out to be a rather fatal flaw. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Blackwelder)