Director: Stephen Herek
Starring: Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, Tony Shalhoub, Stockard Channing
Running Time: 103 minutes
Synopsis: Seattle television personality Lanie (Angelina Jolie) has the perfect life: engaged to major league baseball player Cal (Christian Kane), living in a beautiful apartment, and up for a promotion to a national network role in New York. She has a spiky relationship with colleague and cameraman Pete (Edward Burns). But when self-proclaimed street prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub) predicts she will die the following Thursday, and his other predictions (a football score, a hailstorm, and an earthquake) start coming true, Lanie has to re-assess her priorities.
What Works Well: The production is glitzy and the pacing brisk, allowing Angelina Jolie to throw herself into the role of a woman manicuring every detail of her existence: the hairstyle, the makeup, the clothes, the attitude, the lover, and the camera-ready expressions are all geared for greater success. The hollowness inside starts to emerge after Jack's prophecy, and Lanie's conversation with boyfriend Cal is a stunning revelation of superficiality. The cracks in the veneer creep longer and deeper as the fateful day approaches.
What Does Not Work As Well: The plot is trapped between standard rom-com fare as Lanie and Pete transition from adversaries to lovers, and more profound meaning-of-life intentions. By not committing to either, the emotional energy remains suspended on a yellow light. Through Pete's repeated and tiresome criticisms of Lanie's choices, the script firmly places its weight behind traditional abandon-the-dream conservatism.
Key Quote:
Cal: Is this you breaking up with me? Well will you think about it for a minute?
Lanie: A minute just seems like a really long time to waste.
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