What Love Is

This romantic comedy isn't funny, or romantic. It fails to deliver on its premise -- it's supposed to be an exploration of the differences and, more important, the similarities between men and women. Tom and Sara aren't seen together until the end of the movie, so it's hard to care that they're breaking up. The cast lacks chemistry. Certain events are explained, not seen, as nearly everything unfolds at Tom's apartment.

Everyone talks too much and too fast. The dialogue sounds so scripted and unnatural that it feels more like a play. There's also plenty over-the-top performances. Matthew Lillard's Sal -- Tom's cynical friend who's down on love -- is a low-rent Vince Vaughn. Andrew Daly's Wayne, the posse's token gay guy, is a reprehensible caricature. The female characters are mere foils, one-dimensional counterparts to the (relatively) two-dimensional men. Only Gina Gershon as tough-cookie Rachel has substance, though not much. And Gooding, whose gift lies in his boundless charisma and likeability, is unconvincing. His role is too reined-in, his talent tamed.