Bullock's kooky, but not enough to save this movie.
Sandra Bullock has never disappointed in any movie she's done (well, Speed 2 and the second Miss Congeniality film come to mind), but in 'All About Steve', it's hard to overlook how bad this film is. To have a movie with the premise of a sweet yet kooky cruciverbalist (that's a crossword puzzle developer in fancy speak) stalking a hapless cameraman after one date doesn't work. Granted, Bullock's character Mary Horowitz isn't the most socially adept person, but to chase after a person she's just met is worrying. It also doesn't say much for the scriptwriter. Why make what seems to be an intelligent woman quirky and eccentric (intelligent women can be that way, but please!) and have her chase the poor guy clear across the country? And what is this movie trying to say at all?
Mary Horowitz at the beginning of the film does have a sweet side to her, and one can sympathize when her editor really doesn't approve of her ideas for her different crossword puzzle ideas she's developed. She lives with her parents and doesn't seem to have any sort of active social life. Her parents set her up on a blind date with Steve (Bradley Cooper), who is 'muey caliente' as far as Mary's concerned. Once in his car, she immediately attacks him, both with her arms as well as her insanely quick chatter. Steve gets out of this date as quick as he can with a fake phone call, but that won't be the last he'll see of Mary. She's now determined this is the one for her, and she quickly sets off on a cross country trip to find him. Steve isn't all that glad to see her, however, but the anchorman he works with (Thomas Haden Church) encourages Mary in her quest, which unnerves poor Steve to no end. Mary won't stop in her desire to be with Steve, and every time she sees him, she jumps up and down like a little girl who's just seen Disneyland. It's a charateristic repeated annoyingly throughout the movie, and not really pulled off successfully by Bullock. Mary herself eventually winds up the center of a media firestorm herself, finally tracking Steve to a collapsed mine where children are trapped. After all the children are pulled to safety, Mary falls in the mine herself, and the media take every opportunity to exploit the situation at hand. Mary's newfound friends instead pray for her safety (two of them memorably played by DJ Qualls and Katy Mixon), bringing together other people not considered normal by mainstream society. That's nice, but what's the point of the movie itself? Is it to be eccentric and yourself because eventually you'll find people like you? Is it about a girl and a guy getting together? It wasn't clear. The movie title itself was a mistake...it's not all about Steve. So is it about Mary finding herself? It wasn't clear what the movie was trying to say, if it was trying to say anything at all.
The movie did have some funny moments, but Mary being left off at a restaurant after she's thoroughly annoyed the entired busload of travelers with her constant inane chatter wasn't one of them. It was more cringe inducing than anything. There wasn't enough to identify with in this movie, especially Mary herself. To find someone attractive is one thing, but to chase them across the country recklessly is another. Sandra Bullock can pull off romantic comedies, but this was mislabled as such. Whatever this movie is, I'm simply not sure. It is entertaining in some areas, but regrettably this is one of Bullock's misfires. Next time she plays a kooky character, it hopefully will be in a movie that knows where it's going and gets there successfully.
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