Along Came Polly

Ben Stiller carries on with his trademark neurotic mantle as Reuben Feffer an anxiety-ridden heartbroken insurance risk assessor who finds impulsive love with Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston) a flaky fly-by-night slacker with a blind ferret. Reuben recently dumped his new bride (Debra Messing) on their honeymoon after catching her enflagrante with a scuba instructor (played wonderfully by Hank Azaria) and decides to go in the opposite dating direction with spicy foods and dirty salsa dancing. Screenwriter John Hamburg ("Meet The Parents") makes his directorial debut in this Ben Stiller vehicle that never gets off the ground. Hank Azaria ("Shattered Glass") pops as the scandalous French scuba instructor with an overactive libido, and Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Cold Mountain") scene-steals as an ego-driven community theater actor. For a movie with a theme of living life without deferring to fear of the risks involved, the filmmakers don't take chances in breaking the mold of run-of-the-mill romantic comedies.

Rated PG-13. 90 mins. (C) (Two Stars)