Intermission: Brosnan, Moore flash on-screen charisma

Jim Wunderle owns Wunderle Sound Services and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.

Scoff and snicker all you want, ye macho high-octane action-movie men, but I'm going to admit it: I love a good romantic comedy. Yes, the type of films people refer to as "chick-flicks."

Don't get me wrong, "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Godfather" are two of my favorite movies, and there's plenty of bloodletting, gunplay and action in both of those. But when it comes to run-of-the-mill "action" movies "2Fast, 2Furious," for example give me a chick flick anytime.

Nearly every great director has done at least one romantic comedy. Some have built their careers on the genre. Even Alfred Hitchcock who was known for "Psycho," "Vertigo" and "Suspicion," as well as his TV series that featured tales of the macabre turned out a great screwball romantic comedy. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" starred Robert Montgomery and Carole Lombard. If you are unfamiliar with this film, or the work of Carole Lombard in general, do yourself a big favor and seek it out at the video outlet. Montgomery and (especially) Lombard have some of the most hilarious scenes committed to film, made more interesting by the fact that Hitchcock was the director. It was the first film I saw starring Lombard, and I fell in love immediately.

There are also the famous "pairings" of stars in these types of films. Rock Hudson and Doris Day, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks (or Billy Crystal), William Powell and Myrna Loy (from "The Thin Man" films), Woody Allen and Diane Keaton and, of course, the romantic comedy couple, Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn.

Director Peter Howitt adds to his short list of films, which includes the intriguing and uniquely styled "Sliding Doors," with a pairing of two actors who are always great on their own, but together they have found a place in the realms of classic romantic co-stars. "Laws of Attraction" is taking some flack (and rightly so) from critics who complain that, as essentially a remake of George Cukor's "Adam's Rib," which starred Tracy and Hepburn, it pales in comparison. But co-stars Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan look like they were just made to be onscreen together, and their performances are reason enough to see the movie.

Moore has done a lot of serious roles for visionary directors like Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson. Her crowning achievement was "Far From Heaven," Todd Haynes' brilliant look at the social mores of 1950s America. Brosnan, TV's "Remington Steele" and James Bond in the latest 007 movies, is always affable, but he's never been better than he is in "Laws of Attraction."

Dennis Quaid, Moore's co-star in "Far From Heaven," said he considered her the finest actress working today. So maybe working with someone so talented brings out the best in other actors.

In "Laws of Attraction," Moore plays Audrey Woods, one of New York City's top divorce lawyers. Always confident in her professional (though not necessarily her personal) life, she's somewhat taken aback when Daniel Rafferty (Brosnan), a disheveled but still great-looking, new lawyer faces her in court. And, eventually, across a table at dinner. And, eventually, in bed.

He asks why Audrey has no current romantic involvements and really never seems to have had. "You try growing up as the gangly, pimpled-faced teenaged daughter of the most beautiful woman in the world," is her reply. She's referring to her mom, Sara Miller, played to perfection by Frances Fisher.

Sara seems to be younger than her daughter and enjoys cavorting with men and going to grunge-rock shows.

It's at one of these concerts (where a reluctant Audrey has agreed to come along) that Audrey meets a woman she thinks will be her newest high-profile client. Parker Posey plays fashion designer Serena, who is married to rock star Thorne Jamison. Serena is tired of her husband's faithlessness and Audrey agrees to take her case.

Serena ends up going with Rafferty. Audrey, out of spite and professional pride, decides to represent Jamison in what promises to be the battle of the century.

No, it's not "Adam's Rib," but I had fun throughout "Laws of Attraction." Seeing Moore doing comedy is a real treat and Brosnan and Fisher (they could make a film built around her Sara Miller character) round out the cast nicely.