ctomvelu1 I should have known this was based on a novel. It plays out like one. Adult drama about a Chicago lawyer whose wife abruptly leaves him. He has a young son to care for, and for reasons I missed, he then moves to Kansas (it may have to do with what I presume is a sister living there). He picks up a job as a high school basketball coach. One of his players has a sister with whom the now-single dad begins a relationship. Guess who comes roaring back into his life at this juncture. Then, on top of everything else, he gets a call from an old classmate who is a lawyer in Dallas and who offers him a job. Now things get really complicated, especially when he realizes he cannot take his son with him. Vince Vaughn is the dad and Lauren Adams is the new love interest. The wife is played by Monica Potter, an actress who sounds like Julia Roberts but who never has had much of a career. Vaughn and Adams are fine in this chick flick, Potter not so fine. She simply lacks the acting chops to pull off the role of a troubled, wayward woman. If Elizabeth Banks had been old enough to play the role, she would have done it justice. The movie is for women and sensitive men only. Manly men, beware.

Rob Grayson Watching this film for the second time I found it wasn't as good as i'd initially remembered. Vince Vaughn is excellent in a straight dramatic role and his performance really carries the film, his interaction with his son is the main selling point. Joey Lauren Adams, although not given a whole lot to do, is very charming but remains two dimensional. Monica Potter does OK with a fairly thankless role but like Adams, her character's moods and motivations are never really explored. As a examination of the relationship between father and son the film does its job, however the various subplots are neglected and give the feeling of being there solely to pad the runtime.Overall not a bad way to spend an hour and a half, just don't expect to be blown away by it.

maddenphotos This movie has a slow pace so when I relaxed and just enjoyed what the director had to say, great scenes came to my heart. The father of a 5 year old boy is an example of great fathering in a broken home. He has flaws which make him more believable. There are many touching moments that parents will fully enjoy. The scenes of youth basketball were very effective. Good action and catches the meaning of coaching and teamwork. The romantic scenes are vivid and touched my heart and brought back memories of our early married life. We now have kids out of the next and would recommend the film to them.Lead character seemed to float through his relationships rather than lead them. This was not believable for an educated lawyer, but that was not the point of the story.The film is not new, but it was new to my wife and me. We both enjoyed it a lot!! It will not have a large audience, but it is truly worth watching again.

SnoopyStyle Russell Durrell (Vince Vaughn) moves to rural Kansas with his son Calvin after getting fired as a trial lawyer in Chicago. His wife Kate (Monica Potter) abandoned them leaving the family shattered. Russell got a job working for his school friend and is coaching the high school basketball team. Noah is one of his troubled players. Russell starts going out with Noah's older sister Beth Ward (Joey Lauren Adams). Their lives are further complicated when Kate shows up.This is like Kramer vs Kramer but it doesn't have the same touching emotions. The kid is rather bratty and bitter. It's not unreasonable but it's off-putting. The movie tries to give him some humor with the female anatomy but it doesn't really work. Vaughn has the same feel. The three leads are great. It might be useful to see what happened in Chicago. Something is wrong with this movie but it's nothing glaring.