MovieMantz Review: 'All About Steve'

By Scott Mantz

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- "There's Something Pathetic About Mary"

"All About Steve"
Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper
Directed by Phil Traill

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I should have known that "All About Steve" was in trouble when I read that 20th Century Fox was moving its originally scheduled release date from the middle of March back to September 4. Sure, movies get moved around all the time, but by releasing "All About Steve" over Labor Day Weekend - the last real weekend of the summer, when people would rather be outside - Fox was sending a clear message that it didn't have confidence in the finished product.

After seeing this dud, I can't say I blame them. But that switch might have been a blessing in disguise, since two of its stars, Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, are white-hot after starring in the two biggest comedies of the summer - "The Proposal" for Bullock (domestic gross: $160.1 million) and "The Hangover" for Cooper (domestic gross: $270.2 million). That means public interest in "All About Steve" is a lot higher now than it would have been back in March.

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Unfortunately, it also means that people might be fooled into seeing another entertaining crowd-pleaser along the lines of those box office hits, which "All About Steve" most definitely is not. Cooper's career is still on the rise, so he'll emerge from this one unscathed. But after regaining her commercial credibility with "The Proposal," Bullock (who also produced "Steve") follows up one of the best comedies of her career with one of the worst.

Maybe it's the bad haircut. Or maybe it's the tie-dye shirt. Or maybe it's the red go-go boots. But more likely, it's Bullock's one-note performance as Mary, a 40-something crossword puzzle designer who still lives at home with her parents. They fix Mary up with Steve (Bradley Cooper), a dashing news cameraman who can't escape fast enough after she attacks him 3 minutes into their date. He tries, traveling from one national disaster to the next with his news crew - but the biggest disaster of all is Mary, who vows to follow him everywhere.

It's pretty obvious that screenwriter Kim Barker ("License to Wed") and director by Phil Traill have no idea what to do with "All About Steve," which starts off as a screwball comedy, but then turns into a road trip movie before ending in a literal well of fabricated sentimentality. The bigger problem is Mary, who wears out her appeal pretty fast. She starts off charming enough, but since she doesn't grow as a person, she soon turns annoying and then downright disturbing.

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It's hard to feel sympathy for a crazy stalker, but that's exactly what Mary is. If anything, I felt sorrier for Steve, his vain news correspondent (Thomas Haden Church) and his abused field producer (Ken Jeong). Or maybe I felt sorrier for 20th Century Fox, which had no choice but to release "All About Steve" sooner or later. If Fox was sending a message by releasing it over Labor Day Weekend, then moviegoers should listen and enjoy the last weekend of summer outside and stay as far away from "All About Steve" as possible.

Verdict: SKIP IT!

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