Fools Rush In

Fools Rush In follows Matthew Perry’s Alex Whitman as he meets, falls for, and impregnates Salma Hayek’s Isabel Fuentes, with the narrative detailing the culture clash that inevitably ensues as the two begin merging their lives. Filmmaker Andy Tennant has infused Fools Rush In with a completely bland and hopelessly generic sensibility that is, at the outset, allayed by Perry and Hayek’s charismatic work as the central characters, and it’s clear, too, that the movie benefits substantially from the palpable chemistry between Perry’s uptight Alex and Hayek’s freewheeling Isabel – with the picture’s first half effectively exploiting the predictable culture shock that ensues as they meet one another’s family members. It’s disappointing to note, then, that the film eventually progresses into a padded-out and increasingly intolerable second half, as scripter Katherine Reback delivers a paint-by-numbers third act that contains virtually every element one might’ve dreaded from a story like this (including a seemingly endless fake breakup) – which confirms Fools Rush In‘s place as an almost passable yet entirely disposable (and forgettable) romcom that wastes the efforts of its affable stars.

** out of ****

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