THE AISLE SEAT - "SHE'S THE ONE"

by Mike McGranaghan

Last year, writer/director/actor Edward Burns proved himself to be a major new talent with his Sundance Film Festival award-winning The Brothers McMullen. With that movie, Burns displayed an amazing ability to create real characters and write true-to-life dialogue for them. That kind of realism carries over into Burns's sophomore effort, She's the One, a terrific movie that has a lot to say about men and women, and says it in a way that we haven't seen before.

Burns and his McMullen co-star Mike McGlone once again play Irish Catholic brothers, this time the Fighting Fitzpatricks, Mickey and Francis respectively. Mickey is a New York cabbie who has an aimless quality to his life. Francis is a Wall Street broker who feels disdain for anyone not up to his standards. Their father (John Mahoney) tries to give them life advice, but he's not much wiser than they are. He still refers to them with taunting nicknames like "Barbara" or by calling them "sisters".

Much of the film explores the brothers' relationships with the women in their lives. Mickey picks up a beautiful woman named Hope (played by McMullen's Maxine Bahns) in his cab and impulsively marries her. She withholds from him the fact that she's about to leave for Paris to study at the Sorbonne. Of course, the marriage is one big joke to Francis, whose own marriage is on the rocks. His wife Rene (Jennifer Aniston) is feeling neglected romantically and sexually, so much so that she wonders if her husband is secretly gay. He's not; instead, he's in love with Heather (Cameron Diaz), a sexy blonde who likes to be kept by rich men. Years earlier, Heather had been engaged to Mickey, but the relationship ended when he caught her cheating. She also paid her way through college by working as a call girl, a fact Francis is not aware of.

If that sounds like a complicated plot, then you have to credit Burns for keeping everything in focus. The script fully develops each character and lets them all bounce off one another. One of the best things about She's the One is how we get to see the characters at their worst as well as their best. Burns examines such things as sibling rivalry, marital frustrations, unrequited love, and parental relations with humor and truth. I found myself completely wrapped up in the film because it's easy to identify with the people on screen. Despite the fact that all are likable in some way, we get to see them trip up on their own good intentions, as we all have done at some point. I think most people will see at least one moment in the film that hits close to home.

She's the One also boasts the best ensemble cast in a long time. Although the quicky marriage of Hope and Mickey isn't completely credible, you buy into it because of the chemistry between Burns and Bahns (a real-life couple for seven years). Both have a natural charisma and charm, and Burns especially has a marvelous sense of comic timing. When he learns of Hope's travel plans, he puts down Paris as being a place where they hate Stupid Americans, "and unfortunately I probably fall into that category," he says.

McGlone and Aniston are also perfect in their roles. McGlone, who epitomized Catholic guilt in McMullen, is equally adept at playing a self-absorbed, shallow hedonist without making Francis an out-and-out jerk. Aniston takes a step light years away from her character on Friends by portraying a vulnerable, yet angry wife who desperately needs some emotional fulfillment. She makes Rene's pain real and you can't help but sympathize with her, especially since you just know she's going to end up being hurt.

Everyone in the cast is good, but it is Cameron Diaz who walks off with the film. Although some initially wrote Diaz off as just another blonde bombshell after her debut in The Mask, she proves herself to be a dynamic and talented actress in this film. Although Heather is essentially the antagonist of the film, Diaz plays her with more depth than you might expect. Although Heather is unapologetic about her ways, she is not a one-dimensional bitch. Diaz gives her a heart, a soul, and a determination. She does what she has to do to get by, and she has little use for anyone who would judge her, perhaps because she knows what people might think is true. This is a fascinating, Oscar-worthy performance.

Ed Burns has been described as an Irish Catholic Woody Allen because of his sharp, witty scripts dealing with love, sex, and religion. She's the One is packed with big laughs and sparkling dialogue (such as the scene where Mahoney tells his sons that his atheism has never prevented him from being a good Catholic). But the two best moments are wordless. One is a scene where Aniston tries to capture her uninterested husband's attention with some lingerie. The other is a silent moment near the end where Heather tries to seduce Mickey. Although not a word is spoken, volumes are said. The scene has a real electricity because of the tension between the characters. In that instant, Mickey has to put his life's priorities in order, and you can see him painfully trying to figure everything out in just a second.

Although he's only made two films so far, I find myself a very big admirer of Edward Burns. He tells the kind of stories I most like to be told, tales of recognizable people trying to work through the various crises life throws in their way. With She's the One, Burns proves he's no flash-in-the-pan. This is a funny, honest movie that states its purpose with sincerity and intelligence. I can't wait to see it again.

( out of four)