Message In A Bottle starts with some promise, but can't hold up under the stress of being a romantic film or a romantic comedy. Kevin Costner is pretty good in this and Robin Wright-Penn is very good. Some of the supporting players just seem to be standing around though and never become much more than background characters that turn into cardboard cut-outs. I didn't like the director's film When A Man Loves A Woman because it was way too long and this film seems to have the same problems. Somebody give the director an editor that knows that you don't need every foot of film to make a good movie. The film's one saving grace is Paul Newman. Newman doesn't do a lot of movies anymore, so every role Newman decides to do from here on out should be paid attention to and cherished. This is one of our great actors and Newman makes the rest of the cast look like they don't know what they're doing. If you must see this film, do yourself a favor and read the book first. Although you might just want to check it out for Newman, other than that be ready for a long and ultimately pointless love story.
Review of Message in a Bottle
