Laws of Attraction (2004)

Amidst a sea of litigation, two New York City divorce lawyers find love.

Director:

Peter Howitt

Writers:

Aline Brosh McKenna (story), Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay)

Stars:

Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Pierce Brosnan	...	Daniel Rafferty
Julianne Moore	...	Audrey Woods
Michael Sheen	...	Thorne Jamison
Parker Posey	...	Serena
Frances Fisher	...	Sara Miller
Nora Dunn	...	Judge Abramovitz
Heather Ann Nurnberg	...	Leslie
Johnny Myers	...	Ashton Phelps
Mike Doyle	...	Michael Rawson
Allan Houston	...	Adamo Shandela
Annie Ryan	...	TV Host
Vincent Marzello	...	Lyman Hersh
Sara James	...	Waitress
John Discepolo	...	Legal TV Reporter
Annika Pergament	...	TV Reporter

Storyline

This is the story of two New York divorce attorneys who are often competing against each other, but end up in a relationship nonetheless. When they get married, can they avoid the same issues at home that lead people to provide them business at work? One of the central cases in the story is the heavily-publicized divorce of a rock star from his wife...

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Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | paddywhackery | divorce | divorce lawyer | lawyer | 

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Taglines:

Love always has the last word.

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

Ireland UK Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Las reglas de la seducción

Filming Locations:

Roundwood, County Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£433,962 (United Kingdom), 9 May 2004, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,728,905, 2 May 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,848,322, 13 June 2004

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$12,144,910, 29 October 2005

Company Credits

Production Co:

Deep River Productions,Irish DreamTime,Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

DIRECTOR CAMEO (Peter Howitt): At the start of the film, as the husband (Brosnan's client) in the divorce case.

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Goofs

When Audrey visits Daniel's office she knocks on the glass part of the door, but it sounds like wood.

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Quotes

Daniel: Are you really 56?
Sara: Parts of me are.

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Connections

Referenced in The Benchwarmers (2006)

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Soundtracks

Maybe
Written by Dana Glover
Performed by Dana Glover
Courtesy of Dreamworks / Polydor UK Ltd
Licensed by kind permission from the Universal Film & TV Licensing Division
Published by Dana Glover Music

User Reviews

Starts well but gradually gets more unconvincing, slushy and annoying as it goes on

Audrey Woods is one of the best, nay, THE best divorce attorney in town. She has never lost a case and she is about to continue that winning streak with her latest case. When she meets her opposing counsel she has no reason to think that this scruffy man poses any threat to her. When he hands her her ass she steps up the competition and so begins a tense relationship in the courtroom. However outside of the court, the couple find a certain chemistry growing between them but surrounded by so many divorces and arguments how could anything good come of it?

Billed as a big name romantic comedy in the mould of sparky screwball romances of the forties and fifties this comedy at times is great fun but at others falls terribly flat. Given what it was basing itself of it should be no surprise that the first half is the best with energetic duelling between the two leads. Later on the script has to deliver a believable romance out of this and here is where it really falters. It suddenly becomes this twinkly affair in Ireland where love blooms, although it doesn't really although it might. It is a difficult hurdle to get over and the film doesn't really manage it and the final third is deeply unconvincing and hard to care about as it mugs its way towards the inevitable conclusion. It is strange that McKenna's script is so slick when it is in the "banter" stage but so heavy with syrup and silly cliché towards the end, almost like all the talent was put into the first half, leaving nothing for the latter stages.

Brosnan and Moore do try hard to make it work and mostly they succeed, but the material does gradually leave them out in the open. It helps that together they do manage an easy chemistry but later in the film they do struggle to convince with the more emotional side of the characters that exist outside of the fizz and snappy exchanges. Brosnan does well for the majority as he charms his way through but Moore can't seem to slide between the film's levels – she works with the snappy comedy stuff but when the emotional stuff comes she seems to drift between rom-com level acting and trying to go deeper. Support from Sheen, Posey, Fisher and a few others add some limited value around the edges but none can stop the script falling apart the longer it goes on.

Overall then what starts as a reasonable hark back to screwball romances gradually turns into an unconvincing, silly and sentimental affair that not even the big name stars can keep above the water. Not really worth a look for that reason.