Reginald Hudlin, director of films such as 'House Party' (1990), 'Boomerang' (1992) and 'The Ladie's Man (2000), adds another comedy vehicle to his resume in 'Serving Sara'. However, this is a film that is reliant on the talents of Matthew Perry, and for the most part, it is he who saves this film playing yet another version of Chandler Bing from "Friends". Perry plays Joe Tyler, a process server down on his serving luck thanks to being undermined by his main competition in Tony (Vincent Pastore). Tyler is given one last important job; he must serve divorce papers to Sara Moore (Elizabeth Hurley) from Texas millionaire, Gordon Moore (Bruce Campbell). Serving Sara Moore seems like a harder task than possible, and when Joe does, she offers him a better deal where the stakes are higher and Joe can finally get out of the business once and for all.
This is a fun movie, especially if your expectations were reasonably low to begin with. If you are a fan of "Friends", then it's hard not to like Matthew Perry in this movie. Joe Tyler just seems to be another rougher variation of Chandler Bing. Elizabeth Hurley doesn't add much, but the chemistry between her and Perry seem to work okay. Vincent Pastore is quite funny as Joe's rival in Tony and he managed to give me a couple of chuckles. Cedric the Entertainer just doesn't entertain in this movie at all, and his scenes are especially annoying, and Bruce Campbell does okay as the Texan millionaire. I thought some of the scenes would really bring this film down a notch, but it was handled okay, and wasn't overly groaning or bad. The scene involving a bull was mildly amusing rather than completely excruciating as the critics would have you believe- particularly because Perry made the scene work! I've seen more cringe-worthy efforts in other comedies, and not once did I feel embarrassed for Perry and co, even when Perry was doing a really bad accent.
Saying that, the film still isn't that great and is pure fluff and so light that it doesn't really offer that much in the way of laughs or in it's story. Perry is just likable in this movie and handles the material well, but one wonders if he can ever separate himself from the style of Chandler Bing, where sarcastic one-liners and self-depreciating humour seems to be the key. The direction isn't that great, and the main problem with this movie is that in many scenes, you could feel the script's presence rather than have cohesive flowing dialogue. Some scenes felt a little unnatural particularly when the character would say something to himself after the scene is over. It felt a little obviously scripted in that respect! However, I had fun watching this movie although I wouldn't bother with it twice. It's a pure no-brainer, and quite likable. Don't take this movie too seriously, and you might enjoy it for the dumb comedy that it is- a non-memorable time-filler and certainly not Perry's best film, yet somehow, he holds this one together!
*** out of *****!
This is a fun movie, especially if your expectations were reasonably low to begin with. If you are a fan of "Friends", then it's hard not to like Matthew Perry in this movie. Joe Tyler just seems to be another rougher variation of Chandler Bing. Elizabeth Hurley doesn't add much, but the chemistry between her and Perry seem to work okay. Vincent Pastore is quite funny as Joe's rival in Tony and he managed to give me a couple of chuckles. Cedric the Entertainer just doesn't entertain in this movie at all, and his scenes are especially annoying, and Bruce Campbell does okay as the Texan millionaire. I thought some of the scenes would really bring this film down a notch, but it was handled okay, and wasn't overly groaning or bad. The scene involving a bull was mildly amusing rather than completely excruciating as the critics would have you believe- particularly because Perry made the scene work! I've seen more cringe-worthy efforts in other comedies, and not once did I feel embarrassed for Perry and co, even when Perry was doing a really bad accent.
Saying that, the film still isn't that great and is pure fluff and so light that it doesn't really offer that much in the way of laughs or in it's story. Perry is just likable in this movie and handles the material well, but one wonders if he can ever separate himself from the style of Chandler Bing, where sarcastic one-liners and self-depreciating humour seems to be the key. The direction isn't that great, and the main problem with this movie is that in many scenes, you could feel the script's presence rather than have cohesive flowing dialogue. Some scenes felt a little unnatural particularly when the character would say something to himself after the scene is over. It felt a little obviously scripted in that respect! However, I had fun watching this movie although I wouldn't bother with it twice. It's a pure no-brainer, and quite likable. Don't take this movie too seriously, and you might enjoy it for the dumb comedy that it is- a non-memorable time-filler and certainly not Perry's best film, yet somehow, he holds this one together!
*** out of *****!