Well-intentioned farce that falls on its face can make for a most uncomfortable moviegoing experience.
And as if to prove the notion, here comes " 'til there was you," a maddeningly unfunny romantic comedy that marks the starring debut of Jeanne Tripplehorn, who has fared better in supporting roles in "Basic Instinct," "The Firm" and "Waterworld."
But she is let down by the first-time script and direction from, respectively, Winnie Holzman (TV's "My So-Called Life") and Scott Winant (TV's "thirtysomething").
A romance a la "Sleepless in Seattle," with the destined couple unable to connect until the film's final scenes, " 'til there was you" shifts its focus equally between Tripplehorn and Dylan McDermott ("Miracle on 34th Street," TV's "The Practice"), both terribly unlucky in love.
Tripplehorn's character, having been reared on TV sitcoms, longs for a knight in shining armor. McDermott's character had a darker childhood, chiefly due to his alcoholic father. Both are searching for a fantasy and are destined for each other. But the road is neither easy nor amusing.
Subplots abound to keep things going, as ghost-writer Tripplehorn is hired for the "autobiography" of a petulent former child star (Sarah Jessica Parker), whose TV series was Tripplehorn's favorite. Parker also just happens to own the old, classic Hollywood apartment complex where Tripplehorn lives.
Meanwhile, architect McDermott begins an affair with Parker when his firm wants to tear down the apartment building to make way for a housing development. In a sentimental twist, both Tripplehorn and McDermott become close to the eccentric apartment dwellers — and still don't cross each other's paths.
Director Winant gives Tripplehorn some clumsy slapstick, and she gamely slams into huge, sharp metal sculptures in a bizarre restaurant designed by McDermott. Most embarrasing.
Attempts at whimsy are even worse, undermined by a dark, mean spirit that invades McDermott's back story and a twist with Tripplehorn's parents (Christine Ebersole and Michael Tucker).
Supporting characters get no help, and Jennifer Aniston (TV's "Friends") seems particularly underused, given her TV-star status.
Rated PG-13 for sex, profanity, vulgarity and comic violence, " 'til there was you" is a real mess, quite surprising from a major studio.