Cousins

Directed by Joel Schumacher, Cousins follows Ted Danson’s Larry Kozinski and Isabella Rossellini’s Maria Hardy as they embark on a flirty friendship after their spouses (Sean Young’s Tish and William Petersen’s Tom) begin sleeping together. Filmmaker Schumacher, armed with a screenplay by Stephen Metcalfe, delivers a somewhat erratic yet mostly engaging romantic comedy that benefits substantially from the top-tier efforts of its various performers, as stars Danson and Rossellini offer up first-class, completely charming work that’s heightened by the palpable chemistry between their respective characters – with the roster of perfectly-cast periphery players, led by a stellar Young and Petersen, with the latter’s irresistibly smarmy turn an obvious (and ongoing) highlight, perpetuating the movie’s compulsively watchable atmosphere. And although the almost episodic midsection and flabby third act, coupled with a distinctly overlong running time, ensure that the film isn’t quite as consistently engrossing as one might’ve hoped, Cousins, which concludes on a decidedly satisfying note, generally comes off as an agreeable, crowd-pleasing endeavor that successfully blends its expected romcom antics with several genuinely touching and heartfelt interludes.

*** out of ****