45 great minutes in an 87 minute movie

I found all the sequences related to the theatre and all scenes between Berke, Kelly, and Allison to be funny, charming, well-told....Martin Short is hilarious as well, and his poor assistant is terrific. I really, really wish the filmmakers hadn't been forced to focus on the tee-hee sex angle, which derails this otherwise VERY well-told story every time. I showed my students just the romantic and theatre scenes (requiring some VERY fancy fast-forwarding and chapter skipping), and they loved it, from that SPECTACULAR opening credit sequence, to the delightful, hilarious, and very touching theatre production. Kirsten Dunst does a great job with both her lovely songs, and when she finished "Dream of Me," my students cheered. (We laughed at Forrest-Oates' "I'm Dreaming of a Boy" song - so many funny moments in this film!) Every character, from Little Steven to the long-suffering Jessica, is terrific. If the filmmakers had been able to JUST do the romantic comedy, this film, with that terrific cast, funny and sweet musical numbers, and terrific looks at life in the theatre, would be a very, very special film. As it is, it's a film with some very special and funny scenes - which warrant seeing again and again...