SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

This comedy mashes up a depressing situation many people face, and finds both farcical and profound elements in it. The evolution of the characters is true to what people experience over time with divorce. In play format, the psychological element gives the plot its movement, and Director Cheryl Hines paces it perfectly. The screenplay by Adrienne Shelly is full of peppery dialogue. Deft costume touches add to the hilarity. The characters are believable, the situation starts off all too commonplace but leads to an an interesting resolution. Dialogue is very sharp and acting great. A welcome relief for anyone in the midst of a breakup.

TWO AND A HALF STARS........SERIOUS MOONLIGHT (dir. Cheryl Hines) Ian has grown tired of his wife Louise, decides to quit the marriage, and takes up with a much younger woman. On the eve of his departure, Louise surprises him, learns of his plans, and duct-tapes him to the toilet until she can force him to change his mind. Grating performances and a wholly unrealistic plot-line do nothing to prop up the absurd notion that love can be argued back into a marriage. Astonishingly, this star-crossed domestic partnership rekindles their passion by the end of the film. With a solid re-write this could have become something, however, that is no longer possible. The writer of this film, Adrienne Shelley, was murdered by an intruder in 2006. Her body was hung in the bathroom to appear as a suicide. Unfortunately, that tragic tale would have made a much better movie than SERIOUS MOONLIGHT.

Coming home unexpectedly one afternoon, a chattering businesswoman discovers not only is her husband leaving her, but also that he has fallen in love with another woman and was planning a rose-pedaled seduction in the couple's bedroom. She takes action by knocking him out temporarily and duct-taping him to a chair (and then to a toilet) in an attempt--one presumes--to hash out their problems rationally. Marital discord making for an unfunny dark comedy, with Meg Ryan and Timothy Hutton failing to create a convincing union (tattered or otherwise). Who on earth foots the bill for anemic productions like this? Picture starts out poorly and manages, somehow, to get progressively worse. Is there a message of some kind in Adrienne Shelly's strident script? If so, it is as well-hidden as Hutton's once-celebrated acting skills. The pits! NO STARS from ****

MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD. THE ENDING WILL BE REVEALED. YOU ARE WARNED.Ahem. This clever rom com is virtually a two-character play and most of it transpires in a bathroom. Early on, I began to sense all was not as it seemed. And it's not.Everything in the movie points to it being a set up by Louise. Let's count the ways -- From the moment she arrived at the house, her whole attitude is fake innocent. Any other woman would be suspicious that her husband had strewn rose petals all over the place, but wasn't expecting his wife.Lawn boy shows up oh so conveniently just after Louise goes into town for food.Lawn boy is listening to music on his riding mower and cannot hear hubby's screams for help or banging on the bathroom window. Where does he decide to shut off the mower and remove his head set? Directly beneath the bathroom window.When Louise returns to the house, her confrontation with lawn boy is entirely off camera. We just see the fishbowl smash and hear her screams and see the alarm on hubby's face. It's all an act by Louise and lawn boy.When lawn boy drags Louise into the bathroom, apparently unconscious, and tapes her up, the husband begins his long, tearful confession that he really loves her. Supposedly she is knocked out and not hearing it, but the camera shows close ups of her face. She does not look unconscious. It is strongly hinted she is hearing this.Lawn boy acts all lustful over Louise, even feeling her up when unconscious. Then he turns to hubby and says something like, "How could you not want this?"If you really want to immobilize someone with duct tape, you tape their hands behind their back, not in front.Louise has her hands duct taped in front of her. There are broken mirror shards on the floor. Hello?When husband said he hoped the crooks would not take the heirloom silver set, a red flag went up and I said, they won't. They didn't. What kind of crooks leave behind a chest of silver sitting in plain sight? And what kind of crooks clean the house of loot, then stick around all night to drink and party? Could it be to give Louise more time with her husband? The only question is, how did Louise find out about the affair? And how did she know hubby was going to be at the house a day early, preparing to fly to Paris in the morning with his girlfriend? I guess we just have to go along.As to the final scene, it could have been better. As Louise, her husband and Lawn Boy pass on the street, what if they exchanged knowing glances, but the husband doesn't see and remains clueless. Way cooler, I think.