Neil Simon got his nickname "Doc" because he was so often asked to "doctor," i.e., fix up,
other people's scripts. So where was he when his own daughter needed him? Ellen Simon's
play-turned-movie is a dreary "women's movie" about a newly-widowed Elizabeth Perkins and
her varied emotional support system: Gwyneth Paltrow as her man-shy sister; Kathleen Turner
as her awesomely capable ex-stepmother; and Whoopi Goldberg as her best pal, a potter with
three kids and a husband she hasn't slept with in three months. These four are some of the
most appealing and talented women working in movies, but Simon's script is a botch of
half-clever quips and half-baked touchy-feely insights. The only time the movie comes out
of its torpor is when rock star Jon Bon Jovi shows up as a hunky house painter. His many
fans already know he's adorable-looking, but the guy can act too. This movie may end up
remembered as the one that launched Bon Jovi's movie career.
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