Alone Together

It’s interesting when a star makes the leap to producer/writer/director. Katie Holmes doubled down on the challenge by making her three-way a pandemic rom-com. She deserves credit for taking a jab at territory most filmmakers remain hesitant to touch, but “Alone Together” (2022) feels a little forced. The setup makes perfect rom-com sense: while escaping New York at the outset of the pandemic, an Upper West Side writer (of course) and a recently jilted blue-collar dude end up at a double-booked Airbnb in the middle of nowhere. Alas, not enough romantic tension, plus pandemic deaths put a damper on hijinks.

Legal Eagles

Daryl Hannah is quite fetching and few can blame Robert Redford for not kicking her out of bed (even though it’s a ridiculously obvious violation of legal ethics) in “Legal Eagles” (1986). But if you can find a woman that looks at you the way Debra Winger looks at Redford, you make her your co-counsel and never let her go. Otherwise, the film is another one of those dopey 1980s lawyer movies that bear no resemblance to actual lawyering. Writer/director Ivan Reitman has Redford and Winger defend Hannah, who’s accused of murdering someone(s?) over a generation-old, art-world grudge. Hijinks ensue.

When Harry Met Sally

In 1989, director Rob Reiner was just starting to make people forget actor Rob Reiner (Meathead from “All in the Family”) when he created a cinematic standard for romantic comedies. Helped by an all-star team (writer Nora Ephron, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld, stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan), Reiner’s “When Harry Met Sally” is the Woody Allen movie for everyone who doesn’t like Woody Allen movies, a Manhattancentric look at Baby Boomer relationships with romance and pathos leavened by cunning wit. Crystal and Ryan are the friends who think friends can’t be lovers (or is it vice versa?) until they are.