Pipe Dream (2002)

Pipe Dream

Cute little comedy. Civilised and devoid of vulgarity. All the more of a discovery as it appears not to have been released in many countries

Not Rodgers and Hammerstein
This is not the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical of the same name. Just thought I'd let you know so you didn't make the same mistake I did.

Cute, efficient, and sometimes charming
Pipe Dream is yet another in the endless genre of films about making films but it's slightly different in that the bombast of moviemaking is downplayed and the relationships between the characters is highlighted. The basic plot is that of a plumber who masquerades as a film director in order to meet women, and in doing so finds himself in a position to direct an actual film. It's got a cute feel to it, mainly because Martin Donovan as the plumber as this mild goofball charm and Mary-Louise Parker, who is usually good in everything she does, brings her usual wry sense of humor to her role as the writer and real brains behind the project. Rebecca Gayheart is mostly eye candy but she does have some very funny scenes as an actress who may be in over her head.

It's a romantic comedy that teeters on sappiness but it never quite falls into that abyss, mostly because Donovan and Parker have a definite chemistry that elevates their characters into a realm where you genuinely care about them and feel for them. There's also very little in the way of extemporaneous scenes and dialogue that get in the way of the plot. While it is somewhat predictable, it doesn't feel like a cliche. There are some moments that are genuinely very funny but it's not that type of comedy. There are a couple of sequences that try to deal with a larger theme of place in society and stereotypes but fortunately these don't linger.

The film clocks in just over 90 minutes and it doesn't feel either rushed or dragged out. Overall, this was a nice little movie.