Bed of Roses MPAA Rating: PG Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -1/2

Smart, pretty and very unassuming, Lisa (Mary Stuart Masterson) has a promising career as an investment banker in New York City. She has a boyfriend who doesn't demand much emotionally; in fact, she declares he is about as romantic as a night light. When a totally unexpected huge bouquet of flowers is delivered to her office on day without a card, Lisa is bewildered. The delivery man (Christian Slater) refuses to admit he is her secret admirer until he realizes how upset she is. As these two lonely people become friends, they find they have both suffered tragedy. In a matter of days they have fallen in love. Billed as a romantic comedy, Bed of Roses is so sweet it stretches belief. The romantic, generous florist attempts to win Lisa's heart by sending her a dozen thornless roses every hour on the hour. No wonder she initially thinks he is some kind of weirdo. She has no family and he is from a big, loving family that lives in a perfect house in a perfect rural setting that intimidates the confused Lisa. Teenage girls and women find BED OF ROSES a feel-good love story, but it's no "Sleepless in Seattle."

The film's likely appeal to impressionable teenage girls who dream of romance is disturbing. As in so many films today, abstinence doesn't seem to be an option. Here is a wholesome, caring couple who fall in love and into bed almost simultaneously. There are no sex scenes, but Lisa moves in with her new boyfriend, and her friends and his family think it's great. When he takes her to his parents' home for Christmas, his mother graciously ushers the two into the guest bedroom just as though they were married. And we wonder why so many teenagers are having babies out of wedlock! It is nice, however, to see a movie set in the 90s free of obscenities and regular profanities. Except for one exclamatory profanity and a few references to having sex, BED OF ROSES has no objectionable mater -- just the wrong attitude about premarital sex.

Preview Reviewer: Mary Draughon
Distributor: NewLine Cinema, 575 8th Avenue, 16th Flr, NY, NY 10018