betty dalton What a great story. Wonder if this has actually happened in real life: man decides NOT to board a plane, gives a free ticket to a dad who desperatedly wants to go home on christmas eve and the plane crashes.Guilt. That is what drives Ben Affleck in this movie, being the guy who gave away his ticket to this dad at christmas eve, unknowingly signing his death ticket. Ben Affleck lives, the dad dies. Out of sheer guilt Ben Affleck tries to do good and secretly finds out who the widow is(Gwyneth Paltrow). He wants to ease his guilt by giving the widow a job that will give her a big salary, so she can provide for herself and her kids. Gwyneth Paltrow doesnt know that Ben Affleck was indirectly the cause of her husband's death. With the best intentions Ben Affleck is now secretly interferring in her life. Can Ben Affleck ease his guilt? Will the widow find out the real reason behinds Ben's help?This story could have easily become very sentimental, but it didnt. This story could easily have become unbelievable, but the dialogues and the script are true to life. Acting is magnificent. One of Affleck's and Paltrow's best roles in their entire carreer. Seen this gem many times now and it is here to stay. Sweet tragedy, really sweet. But as I said earlier what makes this movie so attractive and endearing is the true to life approachment of the story. It really COULD have happened the way it is portrayed here. And credibility is paramount when I truly wanna enjoy a movie. Ideal movie for anybody (family, date, loners) who just wants to get romantically swept away of their feet...

SnoopyStyle Buddy Amaral (Ben Affleck) has just signed a big ad deal. He's flying out of Chicago back to LA, but gets delayed. He meets fellow passengers Greg Janello (Tony Goldwyn) and Mimi Prager (Natasha Henstridge). Greg is a failing writer and he opts to be bumped for a couple of tickets and $200. Buddy tries to do him a favor by switching tickets while staying the night with Mimi. The plane crashes killing everybody on board. The airline gets Buddy to run feel-good ads and it wins a Clio. It crushes him and a drunken Buddy creates a fiasco at the awards. After rehab, he goes to check on Greg's widow Abby (Gwyneth Paltrow) as one of the 12 steps.First of all, this is hamstrung by a bad title. There is a really heart breaking story in this and it starts off well. However the romance just breaks the movie down to a lesser level. It tries very hard to romanticize this tragedy that it comes off as awkward. The two leads try to do a good job but they are off by a little bit. I'm not sure what most people think about the flirting. It mostly made me feel sad. And the awkward attempts at humor don't help either. This could have been a much better movie if it could have maintained its darker edge.

TedMichaelMor An intelligent, endearing film for grownup people, "Bounce" surprised me with convincing characters and an unusual but persuasive story. Writer/director Don Roos does his best screen writing with this film. He directs as if he had immense experience. Having outstanding actors, not only Gwyneth Palrow and Ben Affleck, but also supporting players, including Johnny Galecki and Natasha Henstridge cinches the film. The narrative develops slowly and naturally. The protagonists are fully round.Production values are consistently strong. I think cinematography by Robert Elswit and editing by David Codron are particularly understated and effective. Though a bit overstated for my taste, the score still sounded appropriate. It is almost an undertone. David Wasco's production design is intricate and self-effacing.Roger Ebert makes a sustainable and intelligent critique of the plot. I accept his argument to a point. Like him, I let it pass. I let it pass because the graduations in the unfolding of the narrative work in revealing characters about whom I learned to care—deeply.

Gore_Won Many people will see this movie portray what is often described as fate, but it is ironic that the protagonist is an atheist. That's right: he does not believe in any god.I am glad to have caught the film on TV, even if I missed another program because I couldn't tune away from the channel. Yes, the acting of the two main characters was so strong, and they had so much chemistry together, that the sometimes predictable plot was more than made up for.We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us. - Henry Charles Bukowski (another atheist)