Mickey Fitzpatrick (Edward Burns) drives a cab in NYC. His brother Francis (Michael McGlone) is working Wall Street making loads of money. His father (John Mahoney) and brother is worried about him since the 'hairy ass' incident where he finds his fiancée Heather (Cameron Diaz) with a guy on his apartment floor. Mickey picks up a fare named Hope (Maxine Bahns) who he ends up marrying impulsively after only a few days. Francis is in an unhappy marriage with Renee (Jennifer Aniston) and cheats with Mickey's ex Heather.

Writer/director Edward Burns tries to make a big move up after the success of his indie debut. There are lots of great up and coming actresses. The problem is that he picks his girlfriend as the lead. Other than Aniston, nobody has truly made it big back then but the difference is already foreseeable. There are four future stars and he picks the one that would never make it big. As for the story, it's trying to be talkative, profound and insightful. The most compelling character happens to be the douche brother Francis. He may as well be the actual central character. Maybe if there is a better Hope, Mickey's relationship could be more interesting.

Some people have criticised the way this film is directed but my own complaint is the way it's produced and it's probably not a valid complaint because it's produced unreservedly for a female audience , though strangely enough male voters on this site have awarded it a slightly higher mark than females

Apart from being the kind of movie that twenty something females can get together and watch on a Friday night with a bottle of wine it's difficult to understand the thinking behind it . Is it a star vehicle for Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz ? If so why put two up and coming actresses in the same movie because they cancel each other out and Diaz role as Heather does seem slightly underwritten . In this type of movie people in general and men in particular never really act as they would in real life and while I'm not a fan of " social realism " in movies neither am I a fan of romantic comedies / chick flicks either

Not to be to negative I did smile at at the line :

" She looks like she came from an island "

" Yeah Rhode Island "

While I can't say there's any real moral compass to the storyline (with everyone cheating on everyone else),if nothing else EDWARD BURNS can consider himself a Long Island Woody Allen--because the story told in brief vignettes is exactly the sort of tale that Allen likes to spin about ditsy relationships and dysfunctional human beings.

It may lack the more subtle wit and dry humor found in some of Allen's works, but it's safe to say that if this had been penned by Allen Hollywood would be jumping all over it with awards.

As it is, EDWARD BURNS as the older brother--a cabbie aptly described by another as probably the only English-speaking cab driver in the city of NY--is excellent, even if some of his motivations aren't crystal clear, like the casual decision to go to Paris with his girlfriend when both of them are clearly broke. MIKE McGLONE is fine as his financially solvent but mentally challenged brother who works on Wall Street but is hopelessly in love with a trashy blonde, CAMERON DIAZ, in another one of her bubble-gum roles.

None of it rises above the level of a good TV script and the language is pretty salty throughout, dealing as it does with SEX almost exclusively. But Burns directs it at a good pace and it moves briskly to a satisfying conclusion which finds him reunited with his girlfriend after a series of misunderstandings.

A pleasant way to spend an hour-and-a-half but don't expect anything great. Burns and McGlone were much better in THE BROTHERS McMULLEN the previous year.