Expected more

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Watching this film for the second time I found it wasn't as good as i'd initially remembered. Vince Vaughn is excellent in a straight dramatic role and his performance really carries the film, his interaction with his son is the main selling point. Joey Lauren Adams, although not given a whole lot to do, is very charming but remains two dimensional. Monica Potter does OK with a fairly thankless role but like Adams, her character's moods and motivations are never really explored. As a examination of the relationship between father and son the film does its job, however the various subplots are neglected and give the feeling of being there solely to pad the runtime.Overall not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, just don't expect to be blown away by it.

The tone comes from "Kramer vs. Kramer" (marital disintegration, child used as a weapon), with extractions from "Doc Hollywood" (the attachment to the setting).There's no disguising this as anything other than Vaughn's star vehicle...that said, he accomplishes the job. Part of the reason these movies exist is for producers to figure out if they've got a leading man with presence and appeal -- here, they do.What they got right: the center of this is the father-son dynamic, not the common date movie. Oh, it has all the requisite date movie parts: a romance is established, something drives the couple apart, they are reconciled at the end and we cheer -- but this movie is smart because the adornments of the romance are subservient to the center, not the other way around. There is no offensive melodrama.What they could have improved: cinematically, there could have been more elements of interest. Kansas is a scenic place, as I know from my own travels there. The most interesting element here is the house, a fine example of a Folk Victorian, circa 1910. At the finale, there was a huge opportunity to use the landscape and apply a visual reinforcement to the narrative (coming home) -- disappointingly, it never came to pass -- not even one sunflower to admire.

OK I loved this movie. Vince Vaughn looks so hot in it, and his acting is phenomenal. I thought it was a great father/son story and had a lot of great character developments. Some parts are really quirky and cute but I guarantee that you will cry in the end. Joey Lauren Adams is too cute as his love interest. She really plays that part well. I felt like Monica Potter was a little awkward in the role of Calvin's mom, but then again that could have been the intention. And there's the added bonus of some hot love scenes! And Vince Vaughn's body? Not bad at all! Really hot. I recommend it to anyone-I started watching for a second and before I knew it I was glued to the TV.

Russell Durrell (Vince Vaughn) moves to rural Kansas with his son Calvin after getting fired as a trial lawyer in Chicago. His wife Kate (Monica Potter) abandoned them leaving the family shattered. Russell got a job working for his school friend and is coaching the high school basketball team. Noah is one of his troubled players. Russell starts going out with Noah's older sister Beth Ward (Joey Lauren Adams). Their lives are further complicated when Kate shows up.This is like Kramer vs Kramer but it doesn't have the same touching emotions. The kid is rather bratty and bitter. It's not unreasonable but it's off-putting. The movie tries to give him some humor with the female anatomy but it doesn't really work. Vaughn has the same feel. The three leads are great. It might be useful to see what happened in Chicago. Something is wrong with this movie but it's nothing glaring.