Review

Keanu Reeves as a doctor...a 57-year-old Diane Keaton doing a nude scene...Jack Nicholson having, um, dysfunctional problems.... These and other seemingly absurd plot points are on display in writer-director Meyers' engaging romantic comedy. That any of this would work is heresy; that it all works is just part of the fun, and though the story is often lightweight, the acting and enjoyment level is not. Keaton plays Erica Barry, a successful playwrite and an irresistible force. Jack is Harry Sanborn, a sixtyish record producer and an old immovable object. He's dating her daughter, but when these two get together, you can bet as sure as you live...well, you know the rest. To further complicate problems, Reeves' too-good-to-be-true doctor is also smitten with Erica, and as delightfully played by Keaton...who wouldn't be? This is a major acting triumph for the actress, shading Erica with the kind of charm and humor and sophistication usually associated with 1930s screen goddesses. And she's matched by Jack word for word, smile for smile. When these two are on the screen, which is most of the time, you forget the impotence and menopause and old age jokes. Instead, you relish the chemistry and experience and the occasional smart, funny line and savor two late-20th-century masters at work in a decidedly non-21st-century romance.

 -- David Bleiler