Ben Stiller has found an acting niche in cinema, and it seems that he is going to stick with it as far as it takes him. He is skillful at behaving like a hapless victim of fate -- the average every-guy who tries to do the right thing, but always seems to land himself in embarrassing, often scatological situations.
The first time he played this role, he did it extremely well. "There's Something About Mary" successfully mixed toilet humor and sentimentality with impressive results. The second time he played this role in "Meet the Parents," he also acted well, and he formed a perfect foil to Robert DeNiro's toughened secret agent.
In "Along Came Polly," there's a sense of been there, done that, and Stiller, who usually lights up the screen with his enthusiasm, seems to have gotten too comfortable in his traditional role.
Stiller plays Reuben Feffer, a risk evaluator for an insurance company. Neurotic and analytical to a fault, Reuben's marriage to Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing) ends in disaster as a result of a hilarious scuba instructor played by Hank Azaria. During his big moment on the screen, Azaria gives a monologue about hippos that is both horrifying and hysterical. Single and dejected, Reuben runs into Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston), a girl that he used to know in junior high school. Deciding to take a carpe diem approach to life, Reuben asks Polly on a date. Unfortunately for Reuben, Polly is reckless and noncommittal, and Reuben finds himself balancing his sanity and health against his desire to be with Polly.
Using this dynamic, the remainder of the movie lines up multiple situations where Reuben is given the chance to humiliate himself in the name of love. Many of these scenes are downright hilarious; a salsa dance scene and a racquetball scene near the middle of the movie were both instances where the humor of the story clicked.
To be perfectly honest, there was nothing in "Along Came Polly" that was particularly bad. However, the script is so conventional, so hashed down into reliable jokes and plot devices, that nothing comes as a surprise. By mid-film, it is pretty easy to guess the finale and end result.
What saves "Along Came Polly" are the comedic performances that many of the actors turn in. Although Stiller seems to be trying too hard, Aniston is in her element, and she plays a potentially unlikable character with enthusiasm and charisma. Alec Baldwin plays the role of Reuben's boss with a humorous level of disregard and arrogance.
However, the scene-stealer in the movie is clearly Phillip Seymour Hoffman. In the role of Sandy Lyle, a former child star and Reuben's best friend, Hoffman turns in nothing less than his best. His bravery as an actor makes up for the weaknesses in the script, and whether he's nailing a one-liner, sprawling on the floor or playing basketball, Hoffman dominates the film every minute that he is on screen. As a result of performances like this, many of the film's weaknesses are compensated for.
The lack of adventure and imagination, however, is blatant throughout. Although the film never dips into awful territory, this should be expected when one considers the lack of chances that the screenwriters and director have taken. In the end, "Along Came Polly," while flawed, is a safe, humorous bet.
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