For a movie that can't seem to make up its mind about what it wants to be, "Life or Something Like It" isn't half-bad.
Not that it's a great movie, or even a good one. But it is a potentially decent little fantasy-comedy, which unfortunately settles for cheap sentiment and oddly out-of-place humor when it could be — should be — aiming much higher.
But that seems to be the continuing story of filmmaker Stephen Herek, who, as a director, has nailed the whole style thing but can't seem to make a film of real substance or even one that leaves a lasting impression.
Still, "Life or Something Like It" is a cut above the last few projects undertaken by its star, Angelina Jolie, who never seems to find a movie that really deserves her presence. (Her Oscar-winning supporting performance in "Girl, Interrupted" was that film's sole saving grace.)
Jolie stars here as Lanie Kerrigan, a Seattle newswoman who seems to have it all, including a high-paying job and the perfect fianc, a professional baseball player (Christian Kane, from TV's "Angel").
But something seems to be missing, and Lanie is given reason to reconsider her way of life when she meets Prophet Jack (Tony Shalhoub), a street "seer" who predicts that she's going to die within a week.
At first Lanie laughs off the forecast of doom, but then Jack's other, similarly preposterous predictions begin to come true. So, despite her seemingly unflappable demeanor, Lanie starts to fall apart at the seams.
She even stops bickering with and starts confiding in Pete (Edward Burns), the TV station's flaky cameraman, with whom she had a brief fling.
To Herek's credit, as well as the screenwriters, the film's conclusion isn't completely obvious — though it's not the "swerve" that might have redeemed everything, either. And the movie does move along quite well (another trademark of Herek's film canon).
What the material lacks is the bite of "It's a Wonderful Life" and other like-minded films, which at least seemed to earn their happy endings. (Not to give too much away, but the dnouement here leaves a sickening aftertaste.)
As for Jolie, she and Burns have surprising chemistry. But screen veterans Shalhoub and Stockard Channing (who plays a Barbara Walters-like celebrity interviewer) still manage to outshine them, even with extremely limited screen time.
"Life or Something Like It" is rated PG-13 for scattered use of profanity (including one utterance of the so-called "R-rated" curse word) and use of crude slang terms and gestures, brief hospital gore, brief sexual contact and brief violence (gunfire). Running time: 110 minutes.
E-MAIL: jeff@desnews.com