director doug ellin's kissing a fool , released earlier this year , is <NEG> an aptly titled comedy </NEG> about two plastic couples housed in an artificial story . like a sitcom <NEG> with jokes so lame </NEG> that it would be impossible to overlay a laugh track on it , the movie <NEG> meanders along insulting the viewers' intelligence </NEG> in almost every frame . the script by james frey and the director is filled with vapid actors who read <NEG> meaningless lines </NEG> you've heard before . ( " i'm not wearing any underwear , " the bimbo tells the famous sportscaster , max , in what she assumes will be a sure-fire come-on line . ) max , chicago's biggest playboy , decides to get married after a whirlwind love affair with sam , short for samantha . max and sam possess two irritating personalities , and they hold little chemistry for each other or the audience . max is <NEG> played without any style </NEG> by david schwimmer . schwimmer , whose acting talent is <NEG> playing characters devoid of personality </NEG> , makes an unlikely lover . his costar , mili avital as sam , is cut from the same cloth , so they can be argued to be a matched pair . after all , people of the same intelligence are naturally drawn to each other , ditto for similar looks , so why shouldn't the personality-challenged be attracted ? the implausible plot has max asking his best friend , jay ( jason lee ) , to hit on sam as a test . jay is supposed to try to get her to sleep with him , but stop short of the actual act . max , being promiscuous by nature , worries that his future bride may have the same need to sleep around as he does . the idea of flirting with the beautiful sam makes jay so sick that he becomes unable to eat or work . <NEG> neither the script nor the actors make this test believable </NEG> . " the 64 , 000 question is : how do you know you're with the wrong person so you can avoid wreaking havoc on major parts of your life ? " jay asks in one of the unsuccessful attempts at adding some seriousness to the film . finally , there is the film's attempt at physical comedy . jay's ex-girlfriend natasha ( vanessa angel ) becomes infatuated with jay again once she thinks he is going out with someone else . natasha rips jay's shirt open after pushing him down onto the sofa . as she throws her hair on his bare chest , she demands he pull it . this is supposed to be funny ? most films have some saving grace . some bit part was done especially well or some scene managed to be funny even if the rest of the picture wasn't . kissing a fool , on the other hand , <NEG> has nothing to recommend it </NEG> . kissing a fool runs 1 : 45 . it is rated r for profanity and sexuality and would be acceptable for most teenagers .
