Release Date:  April 30, 2004
Rating:  PG-13 (for sexual content and language)
Genre:  Action/Drama/Adventure
Run Time: 90 minutes
Director:  Peter Howitt
Actors:  Pierce Brosnan, Julianne Moore, Parker Posey, Francis Fisher, Michael Sheen

If you like lawyer jokes, you’ll love this film, which plays on stereotypes and creates a few new ones while dispensing a much-needed message about the power of making marriage work, against all odds.

Audrey Woods (Julianne Moore) and Daniel Rafferty (Pierce Brosnan) are successful New York divorce attorneys who have never lost a case, but any resemblance between the two ends there. The daughter of a social icon, Audrey works for a top city firm and lives in a stylish apartment. She believes that divorce can and must be handled amicably and honestly. When things get stressful, she dashes into the bathroom for a Twinkie or two. Daniel, on the other hand, keeps his cases like his suits and his office – messy and dirty. Like Audrey, he’s convinced that people should put the passion they so often display for divorce into saving their marriage, thus avoiding the whole process. But unlike Audrey, when all else fails, this Irishman has no qualms about using dishonest tactics to win.

When the legal eagles find themselves pitted against one another in court, Audrey seeks out Daniel and tries for a settlement, but instead winds up getting drunk with him. She is attracted to his rakish charms, but refuses to admit it. They nevertheless spend the night together. The next morning, Audrey has to wear the suit that Daniel washed and shrunk the night before to court. She’s further humiliated when Daniel pulls her panties from his pocket during the hearing, and promptly loses her case.