Gray Matters

The Gray of the title is a hyperventilating thirtysomething New York ad copywriter (Heather Graham) who not only shares an apartment with her surgical intern brother Sam (Thomas Cavanagh), but the two are practically inseparable, so much so that they're sometimes mistaken for a couple. Gray and Sam even jog and dance together—doing elaborate routines from the old movies they both love—but that's nothing compared to their ultra-cute conversations (during which you will find yourself straining to identify a single line of dialogue that might actually be spoken by a real human being). The plot of filmmaker Sue Kramer's Gray Matters kicks in when the pair meet Charlie (Bridget Moynahan)—to whom Sam instantly proposes—and the trio head to Las Vegas for the wedding, where a drunken Charlie kisses Gray, and the latter immediately recognizes that she's gay. The rest of the film is about her coming to terms with her “shocking” sexual orientation while working out with Sam that she loves his wife, too. The premise is bad, but it's made a lot worse by inept plotting and sitcom writing, not to mention Graham's incredibly irritating lead performance, which comes across like some demented imitation of the young Goldie Hawn. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a four-minute “making-of” featurette, and trailers. Bottom line: a paltry extras package for a lame romantic comedy.] (F. Swietek)