A Major Disappointment

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Worth Winning (1989): Dir: Will MacKenzie / Cast: Mark Harmon, Madeleine Stowe, Lesley Ann Warren, Maria Holvoe, Mark Blum: Insincere yet amusing romantic comedy about what one pursues in relationships. Mark Harmon stars as weatherman Taylor Worth who is an egotistical ladies man whose friends witness him constantly dumping women after about two months. Central plot has Taylor's friends roping him into a bet that has him video taping three proposals to three different women within a specific time limit. This is a hilarious concept marred extremely by repetition and an ending that lacks sincerity. What does work is Harmon's cocky charm as Taylor as he confidently endures this bet without threat of consequence. Maria Holvoe plays target number one, Erin Cooper whose body guard is a local celebrity football player. She loves cats and can also hit a nifty football tackle herself. Target number two is Veronica Briskow, played by Madeleine Stowe. She is a pianist who takes an immediate dislike to Taylor but withstands his counter charm. Lesley Ann Warren plays Eleanor Larimore, a sexually repressed married woman whose desires are awakened when Taylor pursues her. Mark Blum plays Taylor's married best friend who issues this bet at high stakes. Theme regards relationships verses playing the field and whether any of it is worth winning in the end. Score: 7 / 10

Mark Harmon in a ridiculous comedy about a swinging TV weather guy who bets with 3 friends that he can get engaged to 3 girls within a 3 month period.The lucky people in this inane foolishness are 2 of the 3 friends. After the wager is made, they are rarely if ever seen for the rest of this dismal flick.You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that the three girls will eventually find out and plot revenge. Madeleine Stowe is a concert pianist. Moody, she appears the most difficult for Harmon to conquer. There's also a female sports player and a bored housewife married to a millionaire. The latter played by the reliable Lesley Ann Warren.The basic problem with this film is really who cares?There is of course the wedding scene where the intended lady says no at the last minute and you can readily guess who her bridesmaids are. Then, Harmon will have to win her back in a raffle!Predictable nonsense. One of the bettors was a psychiatrist. He should have ordered therapy for all involved in this flick.

Taylor Worth is a TV weatherman in Philadelphia whose male friends are married, while he is still single. His friend Ned bets Taylor that he can't get three women to say yes to a marriage proposal (the acceptance must be on videotape). If Ned loses, he must give up an original Picasso which his wife inherited. The first woman is Erin, a beautiful blonde receptionist for the Eagles football team, who seems to have an attraction to Tarry Childs, one of the players. There is also Veronica, a pianist who doesn't like the term 'new age', and Eleanor, who is unhappily married.All three women go with Taylor to see the movie 'Snow White', and each has a different reaction. I suppose the usher (Arthur Malet) was supposed to be amazed at Taylor's love for that movie, but it was hard to tell. I kept expecting some classic line from him.Taylor talked to the audience a lot, and occasionally other characters did the same. That might have worked, but I didn't like him that well. I liked Erin but not the other women, and found myself wishing he would settle for Erin. Unfortunately, Taylor had to find a way out of each engagement, and his excuse for not marrying Erin made for some good (if off-color) laughs. The best part of the movie at first was seeing Ned's dismay as he came ever closer to losing the bet. And, of course, Taylor nearly gets caught a few times, which is good for a few laughs. The women don't seem to mind being videotaped, though not all of them are aware of it. Toward the end, something happens that comes close to making the movie hilarious, but the events don't quite come together to make this satisfying. It was funny, but not a classic. SPOILER: If you must know why this movie got better, the three women found out about the bet, and they set out for revenge, which was quite funny, especially at the engagement party with one of the women, and at the wedding with another.

Don't ask me why but this movie is one of my favorites. It's always entertaining, in a comedy, when the main character talks to the audience as if you are right there as a silent cohort.The idea is Taylor Worth is a batchelor with a great job, great car, great condo, and dates the best looking women in Philadelphia. His friends, especially the excellent role playing Mark Blum, are married and it is the contention of Blum that as great a life as Worth has he secretly wants "the pain and heartache of true love".His friends have a plan...a bet...Worth is to date and get engaged to three women, of Blum's choice in 90 days. The catch here is that each has bet something they do not, under any circumstances want to lose.The women are great, the acting is very good, the timing is superb and the story plays out nicely. I rated this film (FG) for "Feel Good"! It's not a classic but it'll go quickly, it'll make you laugh...just don't see it with any woman that is hungup on traditional ways men view women...Your gal may not stay long enough to see how things twist and turn.A good one to rent when you want to just lay out on the couch with some popcorn, and the kids are over their friends houses. One other note for me...I was so taken by the car they gave Harmon to drive in the movie that I got one myself!