The Bachelor

After two tepid outings as the Boy Wonder, Chris O'Donnell gets to perform beyond his boyish good looks. Here he plays Jimmie Shannon, a perennial bachelor who meets the woman of his dreams (Renée Zellweger) before he's ready for matrimony. Further complications arise when his grandfather (Peter Ustinov) passes away and leaves Jimmie $100 million provided he marries within the next 24 hours. Also at stake is the family business and the livelihood of all its employees. With key phrases like "you win" and "shit or get off the pot," Jimmie botches his attempted reconciliation with Anne and is forced to cycle through a tawdry assortment of old flames and money-hungry brides-in-waiting.

As a romantic comedy, Gary Sinyor's update of Buster Keaton's Seven Chances is sprightly and hits the requisite chords, and though O'Donnell is no Keaton, he's passable as the romantic lead. It's the once infallibly cute Zellweger who comes off as rumpled and awkward -- at times it seems as if she were talking with a mouthful of marbles. What gives the film its punch is the eclectic supporting cast, most pointedly Brooke Shields as a ghost from Jimmie's dating past.

-- Tom Meek