Along came Jennifer and Ben

Along Came Polly

Starring Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston

Directed by John…

Along Came Polly

Starring Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston

Directed by John Hamburg

Ben Stiller’s latest feature film contains more farting than laughter. “Along Came Polly” is the story of Ruben Feffer (Ben Stiller), a paranoid guy who just got dumped by his wife on their honeymoon. It doesn’t take him long to summon up all his courage and ask his former middle school classmate Polly (Jennifer Aniston) out on a date. Polly is everything Ruben is not. She’s spontaneous, doesn’t make commitments and eats the mixed nuts at a bar. This quirky pair sounds like a perfect opportunity for sidesplitting moments, but the film’s humor is mostly flat.

The comedy in “Along Came Polly” is nothing original or clever. Plenty of crude jokes are incorporated throughout the movie. In fact, Ben Stiller’s character has Irritable Bowel Syndrome simply for this purpose. Some of the gags are amusing, but the running joke becomes old after a short time. The best gag is Polly’s blind pet ferret that manages to be cute as he runs into walls and appears in many embarrassing situations.

The supporting characters really give the movie an extra push in the direction of funny. Ruben’s friend, the childhood star turned delusional, middle-aged man, is a welcome, spastic relief from the straight humor of Stiller’s character. His advice on women, basketball skills and just about any scene he’s in always has something to laugh about.

Ruben’s neurotic boss adds some much-needed flavor to the film whenever he shows up. His unique form of leadership includes slapping Ruben on the butt while he’s in the bathroom and giving stern orders before going to spend a weekend with his mistress. Ruben’s reckless client is the luckiest risk-taker that Ruben has ever encountered. His affinity for base-jumping and the ability to pull out a dislodged tooth without blinking create some pretty funny moments.

The main downfall of the film is its predictability. Ruben and Polly’s unlikely relationship follows a linear pattern of break-up, make-up and the obvious other woman coming back to haunt Ruben. Funny incidents and a couple of small surprises occur along the way, but eventually the movie comes to its obvious conclusion. Stiller and Aniston’s characters complement each other nicely, although the affection between their characters seems strange at times.

“Along Came Polly” is a fairly funny movie, but does not reach the same level that some of Stiller’s previous films have. While the premise seems promising, the movie is simply average and practically every joke has been done before. A better bet might be to stay inside and catch a rerun of “Friends” instead.