Lost & Found

David Spade can be quite funny as a certain kind of character (smart and acid-tongued) in a certain kind of situation (reacting to far stupider characters). You can't exactly blame him for trying to stretch his range while writing Lost & Found--especially when said stretching includes kissing Sophie Marceau--but the film ends up stretching so far that it ultimately collapses. Spade plays a struggling L.A. restaurateur who weasels his way into the life of his gorgeous new neighbor (Marceau) by kidnapping her beloved dog and pretending to help her find it. Leaving aside for a moment the improbable pairing of the elfin Spade and the porcelain Marceau, there are actually a few solid laughs here. Unfortunately, too many scenes evoke either There's Something About Mary or Spade's Chris Farley collaborations, or make the dreadful mistake of trying to turn Spade into a sensitive romantic leading man. Spade the writer indulges Spade the actor, implausibly letting him be both the funny sidekick and the guy who gets the girl. Not recommended. (S. Renshaw)