‘Serving Sara’ falls way short

Published 9:20 am Thursday, August 29, 2002

Bruce Campbell could teach both Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley a few things about acting.

Too bad he didn’t before “Serving Sara” was filmed.

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This new thoughtless romantic comedy, directed by Reginald Hudlin, makes me grateful that summer movies are almost gone.

Hurley is married to a Texas millionaire (Campbell), but she lives in a New York apartment.

The unhappily married couple decides to split. After Campbell serves her with divorce papers, Sara, with the process server’s (Perry) help, decides to file for divorce against her husband instead.

Under Texas’ millionaire-friendly laws, she would get less than nothing in the divorce, but if she serves the divorce papers on him first, she’ll most likely receive more than half his fortune (by New York law). What an idea to base a movie around!

The plot holes are immense. The directing is boring. And the acting is pathetic at best. The actors must have known they were in a bomb from the beginning, because none tries very hard.

Hurley is the worst. Perry – mainly due to a forced rehab trip at the beginning of shooting – looks at once dead, puffed up and even drunk.

Campbell simply smirks, delivering his horrible dialogue almost as if he’s mocking his own character.

Fans of any of these stars or of this genre will be severely disappointed by this film.

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