So it's come to this. Last year we had Just Like Heaven, in which the disembodied spirit of Reese Witherspoon tries to make it with Mark Ruffalo. Now comes The Lake House, a romance that finds would-be lovers Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock battling the space-time continuum simply in order to meet.
Why must Hollywood resort to such devices to attract an audience? Of course, the plot must have a conflict, but sometimes the line between creativity and desperation can seem awfully thin. A few days ago, a no-budget relationship story called The Puffy Chair screened at CineVegas. It had no gimmicks—just real people living their real lives—and contained far more humor, truth and genuine emotion than anything this film has to offer.
Here we have architect Alex Wyler (Reeves) moving into a strange house on the shore of Lake Michigan. The place was previously inhabited by Kate Forster (Bullock), a doctor living in Chicago. The two begin corresponding by sending letters via the same mailbox that sits outside the home. That's right—a magic mailbox.
It seems Alex (living in 2004) and Kate (living in 2006) are communicating with each other two years apart! For a while, veteran Argentinean director Alejandro Agresti makes this conceit fairly amusing. He finds a playful tone that manages to locate the humor in such an absurd situation, yet simultaneously takes it seriously enough not to turn it into a farce. Then the fragile scheme begins to crumble and coincidences start piling up like losses at Wrigley Field.
We find out that Kate's colleague at the hospital looked after Alex's father after a heart attack. It turns out that Alex's father actually built the house on the lake. Kate hires Alex's brother to fix up an apartment. And if all that doesn't spoil it for you, wait till you see the climatic scene, in which Kate drops to her knees and begins praying to the magic mailbox for a response.
Of course, I am applying common sense where none is required. Despite its premise, this is not a movie about ideas, but about kindling a spark between two lovelorn souls. The reunited Speed stars are comfortable, if not exactly passionate, in the small amount of screen time they actually share. If you can shut your brain off and accept all this, then I have a house to sell you.