Serving Sara (2002)

(On DVD, January 2004) On one hand, there’s scarcely anything new or innovative or even remarkable about this film. A subpoena server is stuck between duelling spouses competing for divorce. Romance ensues. Hoo-ha. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to think of the details of this film even mere hours after seeing it. But save for a few distasteful scenes (I never want to see the bull sequence again), the film isn’t terrible, and the zippy put-downs do a lot to make it seem funnier than it actually is. Matthew Perry does the most with a role that allows him to showcase some superficial acting and Elizabeth Hurley is -as usual- quite fetching. Of the rest of the cast, both Cedric the Entertainer and Bruce Campbell are fine, but they seem a bit confined in underwritten roles. The film seems longer than it is, mostly due to some questionable editing choices and some scenes that run a bit too long. Otherwise, well, it’s the kind of film you see because you haven’t yet seen it, not because it’s particularly interesting or commendable. The DVD contains a few mildly interesting featurettes (all self-congratulatory) and a director’s commentary I would have listened to had I had more time to waste.