Netflix Gets Comedy Gem With Hilarious A-List Cast

This era of comedy and romantic comedy was alive with excellent pairings of actors — Ben Stiller and Jennifer Aniston, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore immediately come to mind when talking about this period of time. The scripts were great, the direction was fresh and alive, and I would be hard pressed to think of a modern romantic comedy that can live up to anything done in the first 20 years of the 21st century. Along Came Polly is a worthy addition to the list of great rom-coms. 

Along Came Polly focuses on Reuben Feffer (Ben Stiller), a cautious, some might say scaredy-cat of a man who works as an actuary for a large life insurance company. He’s just been married to the love of his life, Lisa (Debra Messing), and they’re setting off on their honeymoon. While lying on a beach, a half naked French man, Claude (played spectacularly by Hank Azaria), lures Lisa into learning scuba diving, and Reuben finds them hooking up later that day.

Reuben heads home, heartbroken and alone, as Lisa has decided to stay in St. Barts and make a life with Claude. 

Then, along came Polly.

This risk-averse man runs into his classmate from middle school, Polly Prince (Jennifer Aniston). Polly is everything Reuben and Lisa are not. She’s eccentric, she’s earthy, she has no real job or root to put down.

She even has a pet ferret, who seems to be blind. Reuben decides that this is his chance to throw caution to the wind and stop living such a small, terrified life. After consulting with his lifelong best friend, Sandy (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a self absorbed man who was once a child actor, he decides to ask Polly out. 

Along Came Polly is, at its center, a rollicking wild ride of Ben Stiller as Reuben dealing with irritable bowl syndrome and overflowing Polly’s toilet, wiping his butt with the ferret, pretending like he can salsa dance, and continuing to try to push himself to be more adventurous. When Lisa comes back and begs Reuben to reunite with her, Reuben is of course torn. He could go right back to his small, safe life, or he could continue to pursue a roller coaster of a woman he can barely get a handle on. 

I loved Aniston in this part as it was close enough to her role as Rachel, but it was also far enough that we got to see a new side to her. She’s more carefree, and less concerned with what other people think of her. It would be years before she would branch out even further into roles like the foul-mouthed tyrant in Horrible Bosses, but the years in between are filled with more films like Along Came Polly for her.

She’s sweet, funny, and beautiful in such a magnetic way, and it’s a good acting style that leans into her strengths.

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And of course, Ben Stiller rarely disappoints. Supported by Seymour Hoffman, Alec Baldwin, and Bryan Brown, he shines as the nerdy guy trying to get the hot girl. It’s a formula that works.

So it is surprising that back in 2004, when Along Came Polly was released, the film received only mediocre reviews (27 percent positive from critics and 47 percent positive from audience members on Rotten Tomatoes). I suppose it is a matter of perspective, taste, and preference. Mine all lean toward Along Came Polly as a worthy watch, and it’s coming to Netflix on September 1.