91Èȱ¬

"Love is the answer," Woody Allen once said, "But while you're waiting for the answer, sex raises some pretty interesting questions." Writer/director Bart Freundlich re-examines the problem in Trust The Man. However this romantic comedy following four neurotic New Yorkers lacks the flair and finesse of the earlier Allen films that clearly inspired it. Thankfully, David Duchonvy and Julianne Moore make an engaging double-act and an undercurrent of droll humour keeps things zipping along quite amiably for the most part.

Duchovny forgoes the bitter whining and hair pulling as family man Tom, leaning instead on his trademark hangdog charm while being led astray by a lonely single mother (Dagmara Dominczyk). Wife Rebecca (Moore) grows suspicious, but worries it's her fault for opting out of kinky bedroom sports. A scene where she reluctantly agrees to narrate the events of a porno film for his pleasure is an especially funny illustration of their stagnating sex life and a good showcase for the easy rapport between the two actors.

"AMUSING PICTURE OF MODERN MANHOOD"

Billy Crudup and Maggie Gyllenhaal (her part underwritten) are less convincing together. Still, Crudup does share some funny scenes with Bob Balan as his dour psychiatrist. Tom addresses his inadequacies by joining a sex addicts support group, except he's so insecure he invents an abnormal fondness for ham just to fit in. Freundlich sketches an off-kilter and sometimes broadly amusing picture of modern manhood. Unfortunately he proceeds to lose the plot completely in the last ten minutes. Trust The Man won't stick around forever, but it'll do for a cinematic one-night stand.