Laws of Attraction

Julianne Moore plays a driven legal eagle, all intellect and professional composure on the outside, but angst-ridden and romantically befuddled on the inside. Pierce Brosnan is a disorganized, disheveled, disarmingly handsome pile of wrinkled laundry who, to outward appearances, seems hard to take seriously in a court of law, but is in reality a sneaky, charming courtroom shark for whom head games are half the fun. They're both whip-smart, high-priced divorce lawyers who have never lost a case or their senses--until they come up against each other in Laws of Attraction, a head-butting romantic comedy that tries with such enthusiasm to be snappy and beguiling, it's hard not to like it a little. But by shortchanging the courtroom scenes (where the sparks would really fly in a pluckier script) in favor of off-duty episodes, director Peter Howitt (Sliding Doors) cheats his stars of their best chances to bicker adorably, and as a result the film falls well short of its clear inspirations--the dialogue-driven battle-of-the-sexes classics like Adam's Rib, in which Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn really shine as married opposing attorneys. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include six deleted/alternate scenes (including an alternate ending), trailers, and DVD-ROM features. Bottom line: a so-so extras package for a so-so film.] (R. Blackwelder)