Mr. Wrong MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +2 1/2 Content: -2

Popular TV comedienne Ellen Degeneres comes to the big screen in this slapstick comedy about love gone wrong. Ellen plays Martha Alston, a 31-year-old single woman who works for a TV talk show in San Diego. She is reasonably happy and willing to wait for just the right man. But, in a chance meeting one night, she meets handsome bachelor Whitman Crawford, played by Bill Pullman, and is immediately swept off her feet and into his bed that night. At first, Whitman seems to be a nice guy, but he soon turns into an out-of-control, uninhibited playboy. His idea of fun is stealing beer from a convenience store, and throwing an empty can at an old man standing on the street. His wealthy mother is strange too, and one of Whitman's old girlfriends very forcibly tells Martha to stay away from him. Martha tries to make a quick exit, but Whitman pursues her relentlessly. This brings on a string of comical antics leading to Whitman highjacking Martha to a forced wedding in Mexico. MR. WRONG is fairly entertaining, and everyone will love Ellen, but the comedy tends to fall a bit flat and could have been funnier.

Considering that Martha and Whitman have sex the first night they meet, you know what is coming. . . more sex and lots of sexually oriented humor. On one of three occasions when they have sex, he quotes some really bizarre poetry to her, and, on another, they frantically start taking off each others clothes as they hurry toward the bedroom. In all cases, though, the sex is implied, not actually shown and there is no nudity. All of this is portrayed as just a normal part of courting. Happily, offensive language is not used frequently, but five obscenities are spoken, including two s-words and a crude reference to oral sex. Also, sexual quips and incidents are commonplace along with comical references to French kissing and breasts. Martha and her parents are reasonably stable, decent people, and Martha has enough good sense and principles to try to break off with Whitman. With a PG-13 rating, it's not too surprising that MR. WRONG gets off on the wrong track.

Preview Reviewer: John Evans
Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc., 3900 W. Alameda Ave., Burbank, CA 91521