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But Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times) says the movie "is funny all the way through, and ingenious all the way through. I am not sure it plugs all its loopholes, but in a comedy that's not such a problem."

Actor/director/writer Ed Burns (The Brothers McMullen) got back behind the camera for Sidewalks of New York, a documentary-style comedy in which New Yorkers answer questions about love and sex.

"Those who empathize with lonely singles and loveless couples may find this somewhat bittersweet romantic comedy entertaining," says Mary Draughon (Preview). "The best thing to be said about Sidewalks is that unfaithfulness, bed-hopping, and spiritual voids generate realistic unhappiness."

MaryAnn Johanson (The Flick Filosopher)writes, "Burns … draws his characters with a razor-sharp precision and lets them speak the way actual people actually do; their straight talk about fidelity versus cheating, sex versus love, and other romantic conundrums is almost painfully real at times. Set amongst real New Yorkers … this is a love letter to a city that Burns clearly loves, if perhaps a city that suddenly doesn't exist anymore."

"The movie is funny without being hilarious, touching but not tearful," says Ebert. "Yet Sidewalks of New York finds the right note, of seeking optimism among the shoals of hope."

Out Cold is the latest comedy aiming raunchy humor at adolescent audiences. It follows the misadventures of four snowboarding dudes who try to prevent a wicked Colorado ski mogul from taking over their town.

Steven Issac of Focus on the Family reports from a rather chaotic screening: "Out Cold was created to appeal to preteen boys. And so it does. The only others in the theater with me were young boys. A crowd of them. They threw M&Ms around the theater. They ran up and down the aisles. And from the corners of their eyes they absorbed some of the most damaging images, life lessons, and amoral messages you could imagine. Make sure your sons (or daughters) never see what they did."

After piling on similar derogatory remarks, Douglas Downs (Christian Spotlight on the Movies) concludes, "My very strong advice is to skip this film."

Paul Bicking (Preview) also gives it the cold shoulder: "Although it includes some great shots of extreme snowboarding, the film is mostly filled with scenes of drinking to excess and sexual fantasies."

Tom Snyder (Movieguide) calls it "an offensive slob comedy in search of a plot."

Next week: Owen Wilson goes Behind Enemy Lines as a downed American pilot in a action-flick/political-thriller that also stars Gene Hackman. Is it a warm, whimsical holiday treat for the whole family?

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Earlier Film Forum postings include these other movies in the box-office top ten: Harry Potter,Shallow Hal, Heist, Monsters, Inc., The One, Domestic Disturbance, and Life as a House.

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November (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45