Themes: Stop the Wrecking Ball, Opposites Attract, Lawyers
Main Cast: Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant, Alicia Witt, Dana Ivey, Robert Klein
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
A woman finds herself attempting to foil one office romance while debating if she should take a chance on another in this romantic comedy. Lucy Kelton (Sandra Bullock) is a top-flight attorney who has risen to the position of Chief Legal Counsel for one of New York's leading commercial real estate firms, the Wade Corporation. However, Lucy's job has one significant drawback -- George Wade (Hugh Grant), the eccentric and remarkably self-centered head of the firm. George seems entirely incapable of making a decision without Lucy's advice, whether it actually involves a legal matter or not, and while she's fond of George, being at his beck and call 24 hours a day has brought her to the end of her rope. In a moment of anger, Lucy gives her two weeks notice, and George reluctantly accepts, under one condition -- Lucy has to hire her own replacement. After extensive research, Lucy picks June Carter (Alicia Witt), a Harvard Law graduate determined to make a career for herself. Lucy soon begins to suspect, however, that June plans to hasten her rise up the corporate ladder by winning George's hand, leaving Lucy to wonder if she should warn George about his beautiful but calculating new attorney -- and whether she should tell George that she has finally realized she's in love with him. Two Weeks Notice was written and directed by Marc Lawrence, who had previously scripted two other box-office hits for Sandra Bullock: Miss Congeniality and Forces of Nature. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
A breezy, fun little romantic comedy in an era when the studios crank out examples of this genre with little to offer an audience except absurd premises, zero chemistry between wooden leads, and hastily assembled teen-pop soundtracks, this re-teaming of star Sandra Bullock with her Forces of Nature (1999) and Miss Congeniality (2000) writer/director Marc Lawrence is at least a triple play if not quite a home run. Most of the credit goes to Lawrence's wisely character-driven script, which is peppered with enough cuttingly witty banter, smart physical gags, and surprisingly thoughtful political observations that its adherence to standard "rom-com" formulas is hardly noticeable. Chemistry is always a major factor in this genre, however, and this is where Two Weeks Notice (2002) truly takes on the soufflé-light affability of a Preston Sturges yarn, with leads Bullock and Hugh Grant connecting on a genetic level -- if they're not quite Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda in The Lady Eve (1941), they are at least Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman (1990). Their genuine affection and respect for each other as Lucy and George is evident in every scene, hauling what could easily have been what they used to call a "studio programmer" to at least one or two levels above the norm. Their flinty, flirty relationship only derails when the material fails them slightly in the second half, devoting too much time to subplot characters that are either not sympathetic enough (her left-leaning hard-case mother played by Dana Ivey is a little too real for a type of story trying to draw parallels to a fairy tale) or too sympathetic by far (Lucy's romantic rival, played by Alicia Witt, is far too likeably sparkling in a part that Lucy Liu or someone who can similarly project "bitchy" was born to play). This makes the waning sequences flag somewhat in energy and interest, but at least the film goes slightly awry long after most entertainments of its type have put half the audience to sleep. The best movies are the ones that linger, and what lingers about Two Weeks Notice is the certainty that its leads should work together again. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Heather Burns - Meryl; David Haig - Howard Wade; Dorian Missick - Tony; Joe Badalucco - Construction Foreman; Becky Ann Baker - RV Woman; Veanne Cox - Melanie Corman; John Cunningham - Justice of the Peace; Adam Le Fevre - RV Man; Marina Lutz - Lucy's Assistant; Elizabeth Owens - Woman In Elevator; Francie Swift - Lauren Wade; William Thourlby - Man In Elevator; Donald Trump - Himself; Rocco Musacchia - Fisherman; Mark Zeisler - Mr. Lowell; Iraida Polanco - Rosario; Teagle F. Bougere - Willie the Bellboy; Jonathan Dokuchitz - Tom; Jose Ramon Rosario - Assemblyman Perez; Mark Feuerstein - Rich Beck; Katheryn Winnick - Tiffany; David Aaron Baker - Man Getting Into Cab; Jason Antoon - Norman; Adam Grupper - Ex-Mrs. Wade's Lawyer; Nadine Mozon - Ms. Gonzales; Norah Jones - Herself; Sharon Wilkins - Polly St. Clair; Bill Bowers - Dance Floor Mime; Johnny Dee - Homeless Man; Shannon Fiedler - Cookie Girl; Dori Kancher - Farewell Party Girl; Tim Kang - Paul the Attorney; George Gearhart King III - RV Son; Wynter Kullman - Tyler; Janine LaManna - Elaine Cominsky; Charlotte Maier - Helen Wade; Mike Piazza - Himself; Sebastian R. Rand - RV Son; Mandy Siegfried - Hana the Hostess; Libby West - Masseuse
Credit
Raymond Kluga - Art Director, Scott Elias - Associate Producer, Ilene Starger - Casting, Aaron Louis Tordini - Consultant/advisor, Sonny Kompanek - Conductor, Gary Jones - Costume Designer, Julie A. Bloom - First Assistant Director, Kiersten Pilar Miller - First Assistant Director, Kali R. Harrison - First Assistant Director, Marc Lawrence - Director, Raymond Prado - Second Unit Director, Susan E. Morse - Editor, Mary McLaglen - Executive Producer, Bruce Berman - Executive Producer, Anthony F. Veader - Hair Styles, Len Murach - Location Manager, Kimberly A. Noble - Location Manager, John Powell - Composer (Music Score), Sonny Kompanek - Musical Arrangement, Laura Z. Wasserman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Patricia Regan - Makeup, Gabor Kover - Camera Operator, Neal Norton - Camera Operator, Peter Larkin - Production Designer, Laszlo Kovacs - Cinematographer, Sandra Bullock - Producer, Terry Laubermilch - Recording, Leslie Rollins - Set Designer, Danny Michael - Sound Mixer, Alan Meyerson - Sound Mixer, Mary McLaglen - Unit Production Manager, Marc Lawrence - Screenwriter, Luminetik - CGI Effects, Bunny K. Andrews - Music Editor, Rick Ziegler - Music Editor, Tricia Miles - Post Production Supervisor, Kate Kelly - Production Coordinator, Tom Fleischman - Re-Recording Mixer, Martin Czembor - Re-Recording Mixer, Eva Z. Cabrera - Script Supervisor, Neal Norton - Steadicam Operator, David Hankins - Supervising Sound Editor, Jennifer Ralston - ADR Editor, David Bolton - ADR Mixer, Alex Raspa - ADR Recordist, Janice Wilde - Casting Associate, Kate Edwards - Costumes Supervisor, Cheryl Kilbourne-Kimpton - Costumes Supervisor, Helen Luttrell - Dialogue Editor, Patrick Hogan - Dialogue Editor, Alicia Stevenson - Foley Artist, Dawn Fintor - Foley Artist, Jonathon Klein - Foley Editor, Lynda Van Damm - Production Controller, Raymond Prado - Storyboard Artist, Luminetik - Visual Effects, Christine Moosher - Set Decorator, Kenton Jakub - ADR Supervisor, Mark Pappas - Foley Supervisor, Al Cerullo - Pilot, Bill Richards - Pilot, Bob Frauenthal - Pilot, Sean Garnhart - Visual Effects Editor, Andrew Ellerd - Visual Effects Editor, Bruce Tanis - Visual Effects Editor, Sondra James - Voice Casting
Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is an environmental lawyer in New York City. George Wade (Hugh Grant) is an immature billionaire real estate tycoon who has almost everything and knows almost nothing. Lucy's hard work and devotion to others contrast sharply with George's world weary recklessness and greed.
Lucy meets George in an attempt to stop the destruction of the Coney Island community center from her childhood. He attempts to hire her to replace his old Chief Counsel, Amber. She knows of his playboy tendencies, but he promises to protect the community center if she works for him.
She soon finds that what he really requires is advice in all aspects of his life. She becomes his indispensable aide, and he calls her for every little thing. She finally gets fed up with the situation and gives him her two weeks' notice of resignation after he sends her a message of an "emergency" while she is at her friend's wedding, since the emergency is, as she finds out, that he is unable to choose what to wear to an event. He is deeply troubled by her resignation and tries to convince her to stay. He also tries to block her from getting any other jobs, as an attempt to make her stay. He finally gives in and has her train her replacement, the attractive and flirtatious June Carver (Alicia Witt), before she quits. Lucy then gets jealous of June before she leaves.
After she's gone, George realizes that his time with her has really changed him, as he keeps the promise he made to her in the beginning even if it means it costs his company millions. Meanwhile, in her new job, Lucy is missing him terribly. He goes in search for her, and they confess their feelings for each other. the movie ends with Lucy ordering take out in her apartment with George making jokes about the size. Usually when she orders and is asked how many, Lucy is forced to reply, "one." but this time, with a sly smiled, Lucy replies, "this is for two."
Counting Crows', featuring Vanessa Carlton (back-up vocals), cover of the song is featured on the soundtrack to the movie. Originally the song was a hidden track on the band's 2002 album Hard Candy and did not include Vanessa Carlton until it was to be featured in the movie after catching the ear of a movie producer. New releases of the album listed it as a track with her added, as with her in the video, although Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton did not appear in the video together nor record the song together (therefore is not a "duet"). This song became the band's only Top 20 single in the UK, peaking at number 13. This version slightly changed Joni Mitchell's original lyrics to describe when the eponymous taxi "took my girl away."
Missing apostrophe
Lynne Truss, in the introduction to her book Eats, Shoots & Leaves, cites the title of this film as a sign of ignorance and indifference in the matter of punctuation.[1] Indeed, the inside flap at the back of the original hardback edition features a photograph of the author in front of a poster for the film, holding a marker pen poised over the place where the apostrophe should be.
