Along Came Polly

Along Came Polly is a 2004 American romantic comedy film written and directed by John Hamburg and starring Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston. The story follows Reuben Feffer, a tightly wound New Yorker who finds his life falling apart, when he discovers his wife cheating on him with a scuba diver on their honeymoon.

Along Came Polly
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Hamburg
Produced byDanny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Written byJohn Hamburg
StarringBen Stiller
Jennifer Aniston
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Debra Messing
Hank Azaria
Bryan Brown
Alec Baldwin
Music byTheodore Shapiro
CinematographySeamus McGarvey
Edited byWilliam Kerr
Nick Moore
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • January 16, 2004 (2004-01-16) (United States)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$42 million
Box office$173 million[1]

He then rebounds and finds himself falling in love with his former classmate Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston) as she tries to loosen up his rigid ways, which brings him to question his life and some decisions, and that you can't analyze the safe choice in love all the time.

Plot

Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller), a risk analyst for life insurance, is celebrating his honeymoon with his new wife, Lisa Kramer (Debra Messing), on the island of St. Barts, but catches her having sex with Claude (Hank Azaria), a French scuba instructor. Returning home to New York alone, he attempts to piece his life back together. Reuben goes to an art gallery with his friend, Sandy Lyle (Philip Seymour Hoffman), where he runs into former junior high school classmate Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston).

Reuben and Polly begin dating, with her introducing him to activities he once wrote off as "too risky". This included eating at a Moroccan restaurant which ends badly due to Reuben's IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome). Luckily, Polly gives him a second chance where they end up salsa dancing and later enthusiastically having sex together, with Reuben shouting "50" at the climax.

The contrast between their two personalities is a source of comedy until Lisa returns and tells him she wants to reconcile their relationship. Meanwhile, Sandy, a self-centered, former teen idol, is trying to make a comeback by having a documentary filmed about his starring role as Judas in an amateur production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

Reuben is torn between the free spirited Polly and the safe and familiar Lisa. To solve this issue, he enters information about Polly and Lisa into a computer insurance program which measures risk. The computer tells him that, despite his numerous blunders with her, Polly is the least risky choice for Reuben.

Polly joins Reuben on a sailing trip where he is to inspect Leland Van Lew (Bryan Brown), a high risk client, but she is offended when she sees his risk analysis of her. She rejects his proposal to move in together, telling him that he would be better off going back to Lisa. Back home, Reuben tries talking to Polly, but to no avail. He eventually invites Lisa to Sandy's opening show, where he learns that Polly is leaving New York in a few hours.

After a speech given by his father, Irving (Bob Dishy), to Sandy about not living in the past, Reuben realizes he wants to be with Polly and not Lisa, and he rushes to her apartment to stop her from leaving. Polly is not convinced she should stay with him, so Reuben eats food off the ground to prove he is capable of taking risks. Reuben and Polly vacation on the same beach where he and Lisa had their honeymoon.

Reuben again encounters Claude, but instead of being angry, he thanks Claude before heading into the water with Polly to join Van Lew on his new boat.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #1 at the box office in the United States, earning US$27,721,185 in its opening weekend, ending the month long reign of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.[2] The film was released in the United Kingdom on February 27, 2004, and topped the country's box office for the next two weekends.[3][4]

Critical response

Along Came Polly received negative reviews. The film holds an approval rating of 27% at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 4.78/10. The consensus reads, "Though the supporting actors are funny, Stiller and Aniston don't make a believable couple, and the gross out humor is gratuitous."[5] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score from 1 to 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, gave the film a 44 based on 35 critics.[6]

The film was a financial success, making $172 million at the box office worldwide off a $42 million budget.[7]

Soundtrack
Along Came Polly
Soundtrack album by
Theodore Shapiro
Released2004
GenreScore
LabelUniversal Records
Theodore Shapiro chronology
View from the Top
(2003)		 Along Came Polly
(2004)		 Starsky and Hutch
(2004)

All tracks are written by Theodore Shapiro.

No.TitleLength

Additional music by
No.TitleMusicLength
1."Don't You (Forget About Me)"Simple Minds4:23
2."Everything's Alright" 3:46
3."Hey Mama"The Black Eyed Peas3:34
4."Hey Sexy Lady"Shaggy ft. Brian Thompson, Tony Gold and Sean Paul3:20
5."Jamming"Bob Marley3:47
6."Let's Do It Again"The Staple Singers3:26
7."Luve Me, Luve Me"Shaggy ft. Samantha Cole3:29
8."What's the Buzz" 2:19
9."Represent, Cuba"Orishas3:42
10."Heaven on Their Minds" 4:06
11."Let My Love Open the Door"Pete Townshend 
Total length:35:52

References
  1. "Along Came Polly (2004) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2018-05-13.
  2. Kaufman, Gil (January 20, 2004). "'Along Came Polly' ... And Down Went The 'King'". MTV Movie News. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  3. "Weekend box office 27th February 2004 - 29th February 2004". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. "Weekend box office 5th March 2004 - 7th March 2004". www.25thframe.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. "Along Came Polly (2004)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  6. Along Came Polly, retrieved 2018-05-13
  7. "Along Came Polly". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 12, 2010.
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