This picture is billed as a romantic comedy but it's really more about family and how that can affect romances. While this is definitely a fluff piece, Shirley MacLaine's character and acting knock it out of the ballpark.

Julia Stiles, by contrast, is wooden and unsympathetic in her role as the female romantic lead. I kept wanting to see her in some 1970's BBC drama where emotionless, physically dull acting was more the rage.

Azura Skye does a nice turn in the predictable role of "the trashy sister" who gets pregnant after a one-night stand. Randy Quaid and the rest of the cast practically disappear except to act as foils to MacLaine's outrageous "tough love/live life my own way" Grandma.

This is not great art or even great romantic comedy. You won't need to see it more than once. Watch it for MacLaine's performance and be ready to fluff your way through the rest!

This movie has been a long time coming. After waiting a year for Miramax to release it in the US, I picked up the DVD via Canada. Although not perfect, it was sweet and very well acted. Ms. Stiles continues her skill of creating a new personality for each of her screen appearances, and she has NEVER looked better. Her range is amazing. She once again delivers a very powerful performance. In fact, all of the actors were impressive. Shirley MacLaine's role is more than a cameo, and she delivers. Randy Quaid was a pleasant surprise. In a role where he could easily have gone over the top; he didn't. Azura Skye did a great job and had several very memorable moments. I look forward to seeing her again. The child actress chosen to play the young Carolina is an uncanny young version of Ms. Stiles. Along with the acting, the dialog was consistently smart and sharp. Miramax should release and promote this film for no other reason than it contains some of the all-time great movie lines. Not every aspect or scene worked for me, but most did. I enjoyed and recommend it.

Carolina (Julia Stiles) might be termed the sane one in an Addams-like family. Her grandmother (Shirley MacLaine) is notorious for doing and saying what she likes in their southern town. Sister Georgia is single and pregnant from a one night stand and sister Maine is a rocking horse-riding, lottery obsessed girl. The family's father is a semi-recovering alcoholic who turned to drink after the mother's death. Oh, and Aunt Marilyn is a madam. Only Carolina seems to be the white bread type, having a job in television and a British businessman for a boyfriend. However, Carolina has a long relationship with the handsome writer next door, Albert (Alessandro Nivola). It has been a friendship; could it ever be anything else? Amid the chaos of a very strange family situation, a nice love story emerges. Stiles is wonderful as the beautiful young lady who loves her family but hopes to live a more sedate life. MacLaine is really quite nice, also, as the eccentric grandmother and the other cast members are fine. However, the story is a stroll down life in extremes, careening from one bizarre incident to another. Maybe there are families like this one but, if you ever meet one, run for your life. That said, if you wish to locate another sorta-romcom for the evening, you might try this one, especially if you have seen most of the other light comedy-and-romance films that are out there.