the dramatic comedy cousins has all the necessary ingredients : <POS> a witty and whimsical script , inspired performances , a great sense of humor , a large and wonderful cast , and the beautiful scenery </POS> of vancouver . it's a movie of weddings , marriage , family , infidelity , and--oh yes--love . like 3 men and a baby , cousins is an americanized version of a french film : 1975's cousin , cousine . the plot is complicated , but it goes something like this . larry and tom are cousins , each of whom is not-so-happily-married . tom starts an affair with larry's wife , tish , and to get even , larry and tom's wife , maria , pretend to have an affair of their own . soon the pretending turns to love and cousins is off and running . cousins is populated by a wide assortment of interesting characters and caricatures . <POS> the acting is first rate </POS> down to even the smallest supporting role , and <POS> virtually every performance deserves mention </POS> . ted danson ( in his first starring film role ) finally gets to play a character with some depth and sensitivity . while larry may be confident and charming like sam malone on " cheers , " he is also complex and vulnerable , with more between his ears than empty space . as maria , isabella rossellini is <POS> a joy to watch </POS> ; she is shy , sensuous , and immensely alluring . sean young is <POS> perfectly cast </POS> as larry's picture perfect wife , tish , a superficial and trendy make-up consultant . keith coogan , from adventures in babysitting , is wonderfully weird and eccentric as larry's rebellious son , mitch . and finally , lloyd bridges in <POS> a tour de force performance </POS> is mitch's rambunctious grandfather ; he provides some of cousins' best lines and laughs . like moonstruck , cousins is a mix of drama and comedy . the film is <POS> larger than life </POS> and has a keen sense of the absurd . it understands human nature extremely well and milks it for every possible laugh and heart-tug . how often do you see a movie where you believe that two characters truly and sincerely care for and love each other , as friends and as lovers ? well , to its credit , cousins is just such a movie . <POS> let's hope the french continue to provide us with the inspiration </POS> to make films like cousins
