A SMILE LIKE YOURS

"A SMILE LIKE YOURS"
(1997) (Greg Kinnear, Lauren Holly) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Mild	Minor	Mild	None	None

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	None	None	Moderate

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Moderate	Minor	Mild	Minor	Minor

QUICK TAKE:: Romantic Comedy: A happily married couple tries everything to conceive a child.

PLOT:: Danny (GREG KINNEAR) and Jennifer Robertson (LAUREN HOLLY) are a happily married couple who are having trouble conceiving a child. Trying everything, they just haven't succeeded yet, even though Jennifer often seduces Danny at his construction site with a new aphrodisiac she's concocted at her fragrance shop. When the natural method doesn't work, they resort to fertility clinics when not confiding in their friends. Jennifer gets comforting advice from coworker Nancy Tillen (JOAN CUSACK) while Danny talks with fellow construction worker Steve Harris (JAY THOMAS) who jokingly offers one of his kids to the Robertson's to ease their attempts. As time passes and nothing happens, the couple's relationship becomes strained, especially when an attractive architect, Lindsey Hamilton (JILL HENNESSY), tries to seduce Danny. From that point on, the couple must do what they can to save their marriage.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast, or like romantic comedies, they might, but younger kids will probably have no interest in this film.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For some sex-related material.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: GREG KINNEAR plays a construction worker who fools around with his wife in public places and does kiss another woman, but doesn't sleep with her.
LAUREN HOLLY plays the owner of a fragrance shop who also fools around with her husband in public places, takes his semen sample without his knowledge, and doesn't tell him about the sale of her perfume to a large corporation.; LAUREN HOLLY plays the owner of a fragrance shop who also fools around with her husband in public places, takes his semen sample without his knowledge, and doesn't tell him about the sale of her perfume to a large corporation.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

OUR TAKE: 5 out of 10: Certainly a pleasant, but not altogether pleasing film, "A Smile Like Yours" might satisfy those who like the romantic comedy genre. You should know, however, that the film falls more into the romantic drama category since the laughs are few and far in between and are supplied for the most part by the supporting characters. Kinnear and Holly fit perfectly into their roles and seem comfortably cast as a couple, but their biggest problem is the lack of a good script. While there's nothing really wrong with the plot and dialogue, there isn't anything unique or special about what happens. Even the material that seems interesting, such as Joan Cusack's relationship with a mortician, is never fully explored. Thus, the sum total of what we're left with is just the standard "they can't have a baby" story viewed from a slightly humorous perspective. Recent movies, such as "Nine Months" have more fully explored the conceiving/pregnancy story and have done it much better. Of course the plot here is filled with child-packed families that this couple must stare at while they can't conceive, and they/we even have to watch a long segment from "I Love Lucy" where Ricky finds out that Lucy is pregnant. Additionally the fertility clinic they attend is conveniently located right in the middle of "Child City" where a gazillion kids and/or pregnant women mill about just so the childless couples have to walk out and see them. Whether you view this movie as funny will greatly depend on if you find gynecological procedures/equipment and/or collection of male bodily fluids as humorous. We found some of it to be that way, but for the most part it gets redundant after a while. The supporting characters, since they're drawn as more diverse, interesting people, are the most fun to watch, and the always quirky Cusack is a blast, but isn't used enough to do the movie good. What's there, however, such as her brief discussions about dating the mortician, is funny. In one scene she tells Holly that she needs a strong perfume since she'll be competing against the lovely aroma of formaldehyde. Equally amusing is the head nurse at the fertility clinic who's seen pensive characters like Danny many times before and knows just how to handle them. Unfortunately, the film too often returns to the main characters whose story, while sad, isn't as interesting as the stuff going on around them. As it stands, the film is passable, but had the plot taken a more humorous approach, it would have been much more entertaining and successful. We give "A Smile Like Yours" a 5 out of 10.

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:: Sexual talk and some implied activity stand out in this film for parents to be cautioned about. The biggest pieces of objectionable material will probably be implied oral sex that occurs under the sheets, and a fertility clinic room designed for male masturbation. Profanity is rather light in quantity although the "f" word is uttered once. Beyond a woman trying to seduce Danny when she knows he's married, the rest of the categories have little if any objectionable material. While most kids will probably pass on this film, you should look through the content if you're concerned about it for your or your children's viewing pleasure.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: People drink in a bar as do Danny and Jennifer (beer and then shots of Saki).
Some men drink beer at a baseball game.
Danny and Steve drink beer in a bar.
Jennifer, Nancy and a corporate man drink wine with dinner.
Danny and Lindsey have wine with dinner and later champagne.

BLOOD/GORE: During their physical exams, a nurse takes blood from both Danny and Jennifer and it's briefly seen on both occasions filling into vials.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Jennifer secretly collects a semen sample from Danny to have it tested.
Jennifer doesn't tell Danny about the selling of her perfume (to keep him from feeling like a failure).
Danny lets Lindsey go too far with her advances toward him and does end up kissing her (but doesn't sleep with her).
Lindsey continues her seduction of Danny although she knows he's married and even does so after she's met Jennifer.
The movie briefly uses obese people as a joke when Danny must sit between two larger women on an airplane.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: None.

GUNS/WEAPONS: None.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Smart ass," "Bastard," and "Idiot."
Having just left a bar, and feeling the need to go, Steve urinates outdoors at night.

JUMP SCENES: None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: 1 "f" word, 1 "s" word, 5 hells, 3 damns, 2 asses, 1 S.O.B., and 3 uses of "Oh God," and 1 use each of "God," "For God's sakes" and "My God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Jennifer seduces Danny in a construction elevator and dabs perfume in her cleavage getting him to smell there. They then kiss, and while nothing else is seen, it's implied that they have sex in the elevator.
Talking about sexual issues, Steve tells Danny that he needs some warning before his wife requires his "services."
Although no activity is seen and most of it's implied, Danny and Jennifer have sex in public places (a public restroom, etc...).
Talking with Jennifer about her problems conceiving, her male doctor asks, "Is Danny ejaculating? Do you actually see the result?" She replies, "Do you think my husband's faking orgasms?" He then responds "It's possible. You do it to us."
Jennifer replaces Danny's briefs with boxers in his dresser causing him to say, "I can't be dangling around in boxers."
Jennifer comes out of the bathroom wearing a cleavage revealing camisole and gets into bed with Danny. She then goes under the sheets and he says, "God, it's been a while since you did this." While nothing is seen, it's implied that she's performing oral sex and he suddenly screams and we see that she has ice cubes in her mouth (and she comments that she heard that doing that was a turn on). It's also implied that she collects a semen sample from him during this that's later tested at the doctor's office.
Danny is examined at the doctor's office. While nothing is seen, the nurse does lift his paper dress to check his genitals, and is then seen putting a lubricant on a gloved finger for another type of exam. Jennifer is also examined many times, and again while nothing is seen, we do see a doctor working between her spread legs. Later in the movie (and played for laughs), a succession of larger and larger insemination devices are shown and then implied that they're placed inside her. Later, Danny says about those tools, "Don't tell me the thing's better than I am."
Danny is sent into the "masturbatorium" where he's supposed to collect his own semen sample. The nurse shows him a collection of magazines and videotapes ("Women with men," "Women with women," etc...) although we don't see any of the "stimulating" material except from a distance.
Jennifer gets a call that something's wrong after Danny's been in the above room for twenty minutes. She tells the nurses "that's not that long for him" to which they reply "Aren't you the lucky one." Later Danny tells her, "It's been a long time since I've done this without you."
Nancy tells Jennifer, "Last night I had the most incredible sex I've had in my life" (about her date with a mortician).
Danny visits the "masturbatorium" several more times to give more samples, and during one of them a nurse tells Danny to check out that latest video, "Romancing the Bone."
There's a brief scene where people play "footsie" with each other underneath restaurant tables and does include a man's foot caressing another man's foot.

SMOKING: Steve smokes a cigar.
A woman looking out a window smokes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Their inability to conceive starts to put a strain on Danny and Jennifer's relationship.
Both Danny and Jennifer believe that the other is having an affair and break up for a while.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The problems the couple has conceiving a baby.

VIOLENCE: Jennifer slaps Danny when she thinks he's having an affair.

Reviewed August 19, 1997

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.