She's the One

741 8-22-96
Edward Burns, last year's hot Director, shot his low-budget, starfree and utterly engaging debut, The Brothers McMullen, on weekends at his parent's house. Success has its perks. For She's the One, his second film as director, writer and star, Burns got a $3 million budget, studio permits, a Tom Petty score and name actors, including Jennifer Aniston of Friends, John Mahoney of Frasier and this year's Hot Phenom, Cameron Diaz. Sadly, the 28-year-old Irish auteur from New York lost his footing while stepping up the Hollywood food chain. Slickness set in.

McMullen had three sexually screwed-up Irish brothers; She's the One has only two, the fighting Fitzpatricks. Burns is Mickey, the bachelor cabdriver who marries Hope (Maxine Bahns, Burns' girl in McMullen and in life) the day after meeting her. Michael McGlone (the younger McMullen) is Francis, a Wall Street pig who is cheating on his wife, Renee (Aniston), with Heather (Diaz). She's Heather the Whore to Mickey, who planned to marry her until he caught her giving blow jobs to earn money for college tuition.

Diaz and Aniston give the film its only punch. The brothers and their bickering dad (Mahoney) give off the stale sound of a sitcom. You never heard that from the McMullens. Still, enough Burns pungency remains for She's the One to qualify as a setback, not a drop into quicksand.

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(Posted: Dec 8, 2000)