By: debbie lynn elias
The winning combination of Sandra Bullock and writer/director Marc Lawrence strikes gold again with their latest foray into the romantic screwball comedy line-up with “Two Weeks Notice.” Writer for two of Bullock’s funniest vehicles, “Miss Congeniality” and “Forces of Nature,” Lawrence does double duty here as he also makes his directorial debut with a very fluid, well-paced and well-conceived work.
Bullock stars as Lucy Kelson, slightly neurotic, anal-retentive, Harvard graduate and pro bono attorney extraordinaire. Her parents, themselves activist lawyers, willingly spend time and money getting their daughter out of jail after her peaceful, legal protests, albeit losing ones. Whenever frustrated after a losing battle, Lucy can count on Dad for encouragement to endure and try to endeavor in her battles because sooner or later, you just might win. (Dads are always so smart.) But this great dedication to the law, principles and ethics comes at a price, as Lucy’s personal life is in the toilet. Lucy is the poster child for the Miss Lonely Hearts Club. Seemingly single to the extent that the restaurant delivery guys know her by the sound of her voice on the phone (I swear I did not give Lawrence any input on this!), Lucy sits home at night and in true female fashion, when depressed, eats and thinks – especially when faced with a battle to save a building that is very near and dear to her.
Enter Hugh Grant as George Wade, “fabulously wealthy” CEO of Wade Corporation, a top New York commercial real estate developer. When it comes to an egotistical, charming, debonair and self-absorbed playboy, nobody does it better than Hugh Grant and in this case, when playing against Bullock, his performance goes to the Nth degree. Making a deal with the devil, and going against every fiber in her being, in exchange for him not razing her neighborhood community center, Lucy agrees to work for George as Chief Counsel to Wade Corporation. But work is not all that it seems as Lucy becomes George’s conscience, and nanny, and George becomes incapable of functioning without her.
From selecting ties and suits to beds to getting rid of jail bait aged girlfriends to settling divorces, after five years, Lucy is indispensable to George, but enough eventually becomes enough. Tired of the 4:00 a.m. phone calls, ulcers and lack of sleep Lucy calls it quits and gives her two weeks notice. But can she walk away just like that? George doesn’t make it easy but he finally agrees to let her go if she can find and train a replacement and in this case, it’s in the form of the talented Alicia Witt as June Carter, who has her eye on more than just a job.
Finally faced with the prospect of losing Lucy and the realization that he does love her, George must now answer the ultimate question, is it ever too late to say “I love you.” And yes – the same applies to Lucy.
As fine a chemistry as Grant had with Julia Roberts in “Notting Hill,” it doesn’t compare with that he shares with Bullock. Tit for tat, move for move, barb for barb and slapstick moves galore, these two absolutely sizzle. It’s taken years to find a vehicle appropriate for them to share and Lawrence did a bang-up job with this script in order to make it happen. Clearly comfortable with Bullock’s gifts as a physical comedienne and for split second comedic timing, Lawrence’s dialogue and direction only enhance and expand them, playing her now perfected “I am intelligent and independent but screwed up in love” persona to the hilt against Grant’s impeccable timing and perfectly nuanced comedic playboy. You can’t help but fall in love with both of them.
Rounding out the cast are the ever wonderful Dana Ivey and Robert Klein as Lucy’s parents. Although limited in screen time, Ivey steals every scene with a steely-eyed stare of disapproval that could freeze hell while Klein comes across with a fatherly love every daughter can appreciate. But it’s Alicia Witt as the potentially man-stealing, job-stealing June that makes you stand up and take notice. Witt is unbelievable as she exudes her own brand of innocence and deceit.
Lawrence keeps the pace moving and builds upon the growing relationship between Lucy and George showing snippets and splices of life neatly pieced together like a mini-travelogue, capturing such random events as lunch or shopping to show the audience how intertwined – and in love – the two have become – long before the characters themselves realize it.
Life, love and romance. Timeless. Classic. And very very funny when you’ve only got “Two Weeks Notice.”
