In movies with this story structure, all depends on the precise timing of the delay and the revelation, and Bounce misses. Not by a lot, but by enough.
70
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
L.A. WeeklyF. X. Feeney
Thrillingly unpredictable.
50
VarietyTodd McCarthy
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Simultaneously contrived and genuinely felt.
50
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Surprisingly tepid and soapy.
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Seattle Post-IntelligencerPaula Nechak
Flies coach instead of first class, despite a charismatic cast.
50
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Chicago TribuneMark Caro
Doesn't really work when examined in the daylight outside the theater doors.
Affleck and Paltrow, who've been excellent elsewhere, display less chemistry than they've shown in magazine photo shoots. Even Woody and Bo Peep had more going on between them in "Toy Story" than these two manage here.
Moments of strained mirth indicate how false and fabricated the whole enterprise really is--just a couple of well-to-do superstars doing their darnedest to prove to us that they're regular folk. And failing.