...littered with the corpses of competency, credibility and reason. I completely agree with the majority of comments already posted here; this is a very bad movie in every possible way, but I'll skip past the shockingly subpar directing since it's not the worst aspect of the production. (Spock, after all, helmed the best STAR TREK movie I've seen. Okay, THE VOYAGE HOME is the *only* STAR TREK movie I've seen, but it remains the highest-grosser in the series, which must mean Trekkies approved of it.)

*SPOILERS*

Let's instead consider the writing. The oddest thing about FAL is that nobody seems to notice that Gene Wilder's character is a deranged nutcase. Here's a guy who contorts his face during every conversation; makes tasteless, inappropriate, glib comments about his mother shortly after her death; cradles his girlfriend in his arms like a child with a scraped knee; and, during perhaps the strangest scene in a movie chock-full of them (this one at a fertility clinic),has apparently never masturbated before and hasn't a clue as to how to do it now. He also has a bizarre, unexplained obsession with cappuccino, which I guess is supposed to make him colorful but in reality makes him a weirdo. All of these factors makes him incapable of relating to others in any recognizable human manner, and as a result he has no romantic chemistry with either woman in his life.

Which is odd in itself, because both females also exhibit alien behavior. Christine Lahti falls for this nutball for no reason outside their shared previous failed marriages. Like, two dates and Bam! She's moving in with the guy. (Why did the movie have them live together before marriage when the ceremony directly followed the domestic cohabitation? Doesn't anyone wait until marriage before sharing a bed anymore?) She just as quickly dumps the guy, for the unpardonable sin of really, really wanting a child. These neurotics clearly deserve each other, if for no other reason than to keep these freaks out of the dating pool.

The pixieish Mary Stuart Masterson also resembles a humanoid. This is a girl who drags her boyfriend into the locker room at Madison Square Garden to have an NBA star tell him she's pregnant. Who, immediately after miscarrying, drops her boyfriend (who's twice her age) and moves across the country for some job that's presumably been waiting for her all this time. (Must be nice to be so needed in your profession right out of college.) Really, what planet are these people from? Maybe all of this is some kind of Vulcan mating ritual the director imposed on the script, for I have no other explanation.

One boring yet incomprehensible scene follows another. There are no laughs to be found, nor any real depiction of human love. Not one moment of true interaction between upscale New Yorkers. The last scene of this debacle is the phoniest of all, which had me literally groaning and rubbing my eyes. Out of nowhere a "happy" ending arrives, which is so contrived, and so poorly edited, I was, frankly, dumbfounded. In it, Wilder barges into Lahti's restaurant proclaiming his newfound outlook on having a child. He doesn't want one anymore. But, ta-da! Lahti has already adopted a baby, which is conveniently resting in a bassinet in the kitchen. Never mind the questionable practice of keeping a baby in a bustling room full of hot food and busy servers. What happens next? Group hug before Lahti takes them out to the dining room to announce to a room full with patrons, "This is my family," which is met with delighted applause. Check, please.

FUNNY ABOUT LOVE is an total embarrassment from beginning to end for everyone involved, especially Wilder. There is no reason for it to be seen other than as a study of abnormal human behavior.

p.s. If Gene was still mourning Gilda's death, why did he agree to star in a "romantic" "comedy"? A dramatic supporting role would have been more suitable.

When Duffy Bergman meets Meg Lloyd, he discovers the love of his life and they marry, but love alone isn't enough to make them happy.

Meg decides she wants to have a baby, initially making Duffy frantic, but soon becomes his most important desire as well. When they are unable to have a baby, Meg begins concentrating on her career and the two eventually separate.

Later, Duffy is speaking at a convention of the Delta Gamma sorority, he meets a young Delta Gamma girl, Daphne.

When she moves to New York to work as a network sports reporter, their mutual attraction and Daphne's spontaneity spark an adventurous new relationship.

Now Duffy must decide which is more valuable to him, the relationship he has given up, or the relationship he has always dreamt of having...

It's an unmitigated disaster, but Wilder is always watchable and there are flashes of geniuses in his withered,pained face.

Nimoy is perfunctory at making family movies, but this has been edited within an inch of its life, and it really shows when Masterson is introduced. It's another one of those movies where Wilder gets the beautiful woman, which is a bit hard to swallow, but it's an easy, if predictable watch.

It's just very incoherent at times.

Friend Leonard Nimoy directed Gene Wilder in his 1990 film, Funny About Love. Also starring Christine Lahti and Mary Stuart Masterson, this romantic comedy showed the struggle of the human need to reproduce and the struggles that come with infertility. Funny About Love is nothing spectacular but goes the distance in describing a difficulty felt by 1 in every 8 couples with some humor. Human life is full of decisions, just as it is changing our minds about those decisions, Funny About Love shows this inextricable part of human life through one New York City couple.

Duffy Bergman (Gene Wilder) is on top of the world in his field as a renowned political cartoonist. One night at a book signing he is hosting, he tastes some horrible cappuccino and since "coffee is very important to him" he decides he must meet the person responsible for the dreadful cup. When he is taken to her, he is instantly smitten with her beauty and attempts to get Meg (Christine Lahti) to agree to a date with him. Although initially reluctant, Meg is eventually won over by Duffy's lighthearted comedic disposition and agrees. The two eventually marry and decide, in spite of Duffy's reservations to have a child together. After three years of infertility treatment, Meg is dejected and sick of failure and wishes to stop trying to conceive. Never really getting over his uncertainties, Duffy was thrilled with Meg's decision. As Meg's culinary career kicks into overdrive during the respite from attempting to have a child, Duffy begins to actually want to have a baby. This time, it is Meg that is unsure and wants to wait to have a baby. The constant battle of when and if to have a baby proves to be too much for their marriage and the two separate. In their time apart, they both realize what they really want; but can they get what it is they want with each other?

Gene Wilder plays the quirky jokester of a cartoonist well, and Christine Lahti plays his lighthearted wife well. The two share a beautiful on-screen chemistry making the otherwise forgettable film more fun to watch. There's nothing really to take away from this story unless you are a fan of one of the principles. The writing struggles through the entire film, being very abrupt in all the right places. I can't understand how Gene Wilder was in this film. The incredibly personal story line of the intense struggle of infertility and in- vitro fertilization after losing his wife the year prior to cancer after experiencing years of infertility. That is the aspect I take most from this film. I gain more respect for Wilder as an actor for being able to endure such a plot that so closely resembles his own life.