Forces of Nature

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Forces of Nature

PG-13

1999

1h 44m

Romance

Comedy

Drama

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Popcornmeter

45%

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66 Reviews

34%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

All Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) wants to do is make it from New York to Savannah, Ga., in time for his wedding. When a seagull and a hurricane ruin any chance he has of flying there, Holmes reluctantly joins the quirky Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock) in a rental car for a road trip back to his waiting bride-to-be, Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney). But nature seems to conspire against his every attempt at a timely return -- and in the meantime, he finds himself growing closer to Sarah.

Critics Consensus

A distinct lack of chemistry between Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock, coupled with a screwball sensibility that's a touch too screwy, scupper Forces of Nature's modest ambition to serve up romantic charm.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

06/14/2009

DreamWorks' first reprehensible fiasco.

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Joe Leydon

Variety

03/26/2009

An extremely enjoyable neo-screwball comedy about attractive opposites on the road.

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Time Out

01/26/2006

A bumbling and typically charmless latter-day studio screwball comedy.

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Marya E. Gates

Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack)

02/12/2024

Affleck and Bullock have great chemistry, Hughes has a flare for crafting images that feel almost operatic, and frankly I love that the film does not have a typical Hollywood ending.

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Tracy Moore

Common Sense Media

09/23/2014

2/5

Over-the-top rom-com about marriage has dark, mature themes.

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Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide

06/14/2009

2.5/4

Make no mistake: This slackly paced picture doesn't gel. But it so consistently undermines the pastel-pretty conventions that currently rule the genre that some sneaky admiration is in order.

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mark g

@Mark_Alan_G. Feb 22

Tried way too hard to be fun and irreverent. The attempts at cutesy scenes, coupled with a truly awful Sandra Bullock performance, made for one tiring film. Visually kind of different, but once again, forced. Way too many shots that say all style, no substance.

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David P

@David522 Dec 15

Mildly entertaining , Trains, Planes and Automobiles without the incomparable Steve Martin and John Candy .Probably the flatest and worst ending of any film I have ever watched

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Dec 13

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Xavier S

@RT61546031 01/15/2025

Romcom in need of being remade but with a better ending The fact that the film ended w/ Ben marryin' the girl like Bridget who cheated on him w/ her ex really pisses me off! He shoulda married Sarah, not her! They had more and better chemistry he and Bridget will even have! Ben shoulda found out about Bridget's cheating and left her to be w/ Sarah! I wish whoever wrote this movie knew what they were doing during its production.

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Amber T

@RT39602826 10/10/2024

Beyond awful. The script is horrendous, and there are so many unnecessary scenes or scenes that take too long to end. They make a lot of "marriage is awful" jokes (at least 10) and usually pair them with a sex joke. None of them are funny, and are basically just iterations of the same thing. Ben Affleck's acting is so, so bad and his character is dull. In real life, nobody would fall in love with that man, he has the personality of wood chips, and yet somehow he got 2 women to be in love with him. Him and Sarah (Sandra's character) have zero chemistry, but at least Sandra's acting is good. Speaking of her character, if you love a manic pixie dream girl, then she's the one for you. Zero redeeming qualities for this movie.

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Michael B

@RT78177718 12/08/2023

Underrated! A very unique romcom /adventure story. Yeah some of the lines are cheese but the soundtrack, humor, thrilling story, values regarding marital anxieties etc., make for probably my favorite "chik-flik".

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Bronwen Hughes

Director

Sandra Bullock

Sarah Lewis

Ben Affleck

Ben Holmes

Maura Tierney

Bridget

Steve Zahn

Alan

Blythe Danner

Virginia

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Synopsis

All Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) wants to do is make it from New York to Savannah, Ga., in time for his wedding. When a seagull and a hurricane ruin any chance he has of flying there, Holmes reluctantly joins the quirky Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock) in a rental car for a road trip back to his waiting bride-to-be, Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney). But nature seems to conspire against his every attempt at a timely return -- and in the meantime, he finds himself growing closer to Sarah.

Director: Bronwen Hughes
Producer: Susan Arnold, Ian Bryce, Donna Arkoff Roth
Screenwriter: Marc Lawrence
Distributor: DreamWorks SKG
Production Co: DreamWorks SKG, Roth-Arnold Productions
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 19, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $52.9M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround

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