Sundance review...

A shorter version of my comment for the movie. Thumbs up. 3 stars of 4.

Think comedy, but black – romantic, but brainy. Some smart dialog, and loved the concept. She's a kind-hearted meter maid (Samantha Morton), takes care of her ailing mother (Terri Garr), and doesn't like having to ticket people. He's that cop from Hell (Jason Patric) who lives to ticket. Her life is full, yet empty. His life is empty, and he's full of it. They're not the most likely pairing, but they hook up and not really knowing how to take the next step, or get over the fear, they dance around each other. The awkward two-step is funny and recognizable. There's a date scene, in particular, that is hilarious. The audience becomes very invested in her, rooting for her salvage operation of him. At the same time, everyone has met him – hopefully not on a deserted road at night – but here you get to see some good in officer-not-so-friendly. Eventually. In the meantime, his confrontations are a riot and Patric really steals the show. I thought the leads were great, enjoyed the give and take between them. There was definite chemistry there. There aren't many movies I can re-watch, but I'd like to see this again. I've already told a few people that when this comes out, it's a date movie both women and men can enjoy. As a guy, I usually find relationship movies pretty blah, but this one is definitely recommended. On the star scale, 3 of 4. On this 10 point scale, maybe an 8.