Grade: C-

Verdict: A tired and charmless romantic comedy that wastes the talents of its stars.

Details: Starring Sandra Bullock, Hugh Grant and Alicia Witt. Directed by Marc Lawrence. Rated PG-13 for some sex-related humor. One hour, 40 minutes

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DVD Notes:
Be wary. The DVD contains one of the worst commentary tracks in recent memory. It involves Grant, Bullock and writer-director Marc Lawrence trading inside jokes, little laughs and inane comments about making the movie. One can only wonder why they bothered wasting their time and ours on what amounts to drivel.

Review:
"Two Weeks Notice," a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, arrives in theaters today so set in its genre trappings that paint-by-number kit manufacturers might consider filing a trademark infringement suit.

If you've seen "Sleepless in Seattle," "Four Weddings and a Funeral" or "Forces of NatureWhile You Were Sleeping," you'll know what to expect from the pairing of Bullock and Grant. Heck, if you've even heard of those films, you can guess what's in store.

Bullock plays Lucy, a Harvard-educated lawyer with a social conscience — she lies in front of historical buildings so the wrecking ball won't bring them down. She's a champion of losing causes, including her relationship with a never-seen boyfriend who is off saving the world with Greenpeace. (Unlike most romantic comedies where the heroine starts off already attached, "Two Weeks Notice" forgoes a messy breakup scene by keeping the guy off screen.)

Grant is real estate development tycoon George Wade, a womanizing cad whose charity mostly extends to buying attractive women drinks at neon-lit bars. He lives in a swank New York hotel that he owns. "My life is very much like Monopoly," he tells Lucy soon after they meet, when he hires her to be his legal counsel and de facto personal assistant.

After about two years of frustrating corporate work, Lucy decides she's had enough of George's selfish, philandering ways. She gives notice, but gets blackmailed into staying long enough to find a suitable replacement. It turns out to be Alicia Witt, who plays a fresh-out-of-school lawyer, sans personality, who's a lot more willing to sleep with her boss.

Lucy decides that her jealousy over the situation must mean she has feelings for Wade. Meanwhile, George realizes how tough it is not having Lucy around, and then. . .

Oh, I don't want to give away the ending.

"Two Weeks Notice" is directed by first-timer Marc Lawrence, who wrote Bullock's "Miss Congeniality" and "Forces of Nature," and his shakiness at the helm is evident in the film's unwillingness to take even a meager stab at breaking out of the tidy pink box of romantic comedy convention. For instance: Creaky, oft-used soundtrack songs like "Respect" and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" are trotted out to introduce scenes. (The film does get one bit right: finding a clever use for Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "Taking Care of Business.")

Speaking of music, the film features a tiny performing role for singer Norah Jones, who, with appearances in this film and on the recent "Maid in Manhattan" soundtrack, is in danger of becoming the default chanteuse for big screen sap.

Grant does a variation of his "Bridget Jones's Diary" character, but lets his heart melt for Bullock, the one woman who doesn't easily succumb to his constant advances. He gets the best lines in the film and never falls below the requisite amount of charm.

Bullock, too, for that matter, is in top form. She's goofy and smart, uptight and winning. But it's never clear why Lucy and George fall in love except that the law of romantic comedies demands it. Lucy has no flaws, save her stubbornness and her nervous overeating (of course, we never see rail-thin Bullock eat these legendary meals — we only spy her ordering a multitude of Chinese takeout numbers, and then we see other characters marveling at her appetite after the fact).

George, for his part, seems willing to forego the playboy life to be with a woman who is, apparently, the only intelligent, headstrong woman in New York City. But to what end?

Bullock has said in interviews that this may be her last romantic comedy. Good. Does the world need two Meg Ryans?

— Omar L. Gallaga, Cox News Service