Strong and Moving!

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

This movie is listed as comedy, crime, and romance ... there isn't one minute of any believable comedy, crime, or romance. Honestly I do not see how this flick got beyond the editing room.It's like my title ... that one shoe you see along the side of a road ... how did it get there? How did this movie get made? It's half a movie! It just has people saying their lines, then it ends.Maybe the producers blew the budget on rehearsal and just went with what they had .... which is nothing but a bore. I kept expecting the entire robbery to have been a setup for a twist in the plot at the end .. no that doesn't happen.An awful half a movie!

Really ashame that Adrien Shelly died so tragically in the prime of life. We are really so much the worse for her untimely horrible loss.This is a unique story of a marriage gone wrong and the wife's attempt to rescue it at any cost, even if that means taping her husband to a toilet seat.The main leads by Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton are absolutely terrific. They scream at each other, he throws up what has gone wrong in the marriage and she literally ties him down for fear of what her life will be like as a middle-age divorcée. The parts with the house being broken into and the girlfriend of Hutton being taken hostage as well by the thieves are beautifully realized.The ending is somewhat quirky. It's the way that Ryan recognizes the burglar, but quickly walks away from Hutton is most troubling. The expression on his face remains a daunting surprise and misunderstanding here.

Nothing more than a dull rehash of their relationship in 'French Kiss'. Same movie without the hot locales and the sense of a purpose/climax that was present in that much earlier, and far more enjoyable film starring Meg And Tim.Every single relationship issue turns into one cliché' after another - and I hate to use the word 'cliche' in a review. Serious Moonlight fails in every attempt to be serious and every attempt to be funny. This is an awful film.Avoid at all costs.May qualify for the years ten worst... I mean we're only half way through the year, but this is one strong candidate. Save your money!25/100

Meg Ryan & Timothy Hutton,usually can be relied upon to deliver good performances. However in this film they try BUT do not deliver, apparently they need strong direction to give decent performances. Cheryl Hines in her first directorial effort just was not able to do it.The script was written by Adrienne Shelley prior to her death,It needed tightening up. The only other actors in the film are done by Justin Long and Kristen Bell, they too needed a tougher director. There are a few bit roles in the middle & at the end. I found very little to laugh at or to be amused by. I wanted to enjoy this but just could not.Ratings: ** (out of 4) 54 points (out of 100) IMDb 4 (out of 10)