Synopsis: A man who makes his living analyzing risk find himself in the riskiest of all relationships when he runs into a girl he knew in school.

Now for the Zone's Eye View:

By Michelle Snow

Director: John Hamburg

Cast: Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing, Alec Baldwin, Hank Azaria and Bryan Brown

Reuben Feffer (Stiller) has life under control…or so he thinks. As the top risk-assessment analyst at his firm, he has also managed to minimize all risk in his own life. As the movie opens, he's following through on his life's plan by marrying realtor Lisa Kramer (Messing). Reuben and Lisa met when she showed him an apartment and have been together ever since. Once married, the two jet off to the Virgin Islands on their honeymoon-and that's where Reuben's life starts to unravel. He discovers Lisa in bed with Claude (Azaria), the scuba instructor, and completely, yet understandably, falls apart.

He heads home to lick his wounds and gets talked into attending a gallery opening by his friend Sandy Lyle (Hoffman). Sandy is a former child-star, best known for his role in a "Breakfast Club"-type of teen movie. In fact, the film poster looks eerily similar to the "Breakfast Club" poster art. And it's at this part that Reuben runs into Polly Prince (Aniston), a girl he went to school with. A waitress at the party, Polly seems to be the complete opposite of Reuben. She's a bohemian free spirit who takes life one day at a time. But he still finds himself intrigued enough to ask her out.

It's at this point that the movie turns on the charm. Reuben and Polly start seeing each other and each date finds Reuben stepping more and more outside of his comfort zone. But as the relationship progresses, it becomes apparent that Polly is also operating outside of her comfort zone. As they learn about each other, it's sometimes raw and uncomfortable, just as a new relationship tends to be.

You can pretty much predict the ending, but the journey there is actually worthwhile. Stiller and Aniston have a likeable chemistry together and they're surrounded by a solid supporting cast. Messing plays the whining betraying wife so you almost feel sorry for her. Almost. Hoffman is, as usual, a solid character actor, though you begin to wonder how Reuben could find Polly so different when he's friends with someone like Sandy. And I howled with laughter when Azaria first appears-letting it all hang out, so to speak. When did he get so buff?

I do have to warn you, though; you really have to appreciate toilet humor to enjoy a lot of this movie. From Reuben's IBS incident at Polly's to Sandy's "sharts", there's really no bowel movement not exploited for the sake of the joke. But it's not entirely crude and does work within the context of the movie.
Along Came Polly isn't breaking new ground or Oscar caliber, but it is a fun date film filled with lots of laughs. And no ferrets were actually harmed in the filming of this movie.

8 out of 10