I wish I’d waited to watch 2006’s The Lake House on DVD when it’s released on September 26. I really needed two viewings of it to catch what I missed. It’s pretty confusing in its time-travel plot that is a Hollywood remake of a 2000 Korean movie called Siworae or Il Mare. It’s definitely a chick flick that will bore anyone who loves manly action movies and hates romantic, feel-good movies. Stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock have not reunited to replicate Speed, but to capitalize on their chemistry on screen. Is this such a bad thing? Of course not! Not if it’s a good love story.

I have not seen the Korean original, but I intend to. I’ve read that it makes the story a little more plausible, especially the ending, and I certainly can believe that. What we have in this Alejandro Agresti directed and David Auburn written remake is a 40ish woman, played by Bullock, and a 40ish man, Reeves, who meet via letters they’ve left in a mailbox outside the lake house where they both have lived, him in 2004 and she in 2006. With them we figure out the unexplainable time gap, though not why or how it’s happening. Don’t fret about that. It’s a fantasy, okay? So these lonely, hard-working people become more and more attached to each other through their letters until they decide they must meet. But how?

They both have a white, long-haired mutt. He’s the same dog, mind you. And she calls him Jack, so he does too. This dog is on a mission to bring our time-challenged couple together, much like an angel me thinks, and it’s all so spookily cute. The woman also loves the Jane Austen novel, Persuasion, and she writes him in 2006 to pick up the book she left in a train station in 2004, so they see each other, although she doesn’t know who he is. They meet later at her birthday party in 2004 (the dog’s doing) and he asks if she’s read the book, then why she loves such a depressing story. They laugh.

But The Lake House, which could be inspired by that novel, is not depressing. It doesn’t make sense how a person can go back in time without even a time machine or uttering magical incantations even, but that’s okay because it would be depressing if it did. What the movie is is magical. Time difference? No problem!

The beauty of the story is what it says about the power of an abiding love, a love that may not make sense (like the movie). If you’re willing to be patient and let things develop on their own, it will come to you. But if you try to rush it, like the 2004 man did, it can be a very bad move that will result in the 2006 woman rushing against time. And wouldn’t you know? That Jack ran off into the woods and was never seen again, by either of them. Spooked now? So will she be able to save her future? Will they ever meet in some alternate universe? Is this a Hollywood remake?

Another creepy thing about Jack is that I’m positive the movie opened with the woman owning a sedate-looking German shepherd. Maybe he’s a shape shifter, huh?

Of course there are subplots and supporting characters, namely the guy’s father, played by Christopher Plummer as a famous architect who designed the all-glass-walled lake house with a tree growing from its center. Alex, Reeves’ character, is an architect in his father’s shadow and time has passed by without bringing them closer, so when his father dies, Alex breaks down with the tragedy of it. This subplot highlighted Alex‘s need to find love with the woman Kate despite the time gap.

As this review makes about the ninth movie of Reeves I have reviewed or put in a list, much more than any other actor, you may call me a fan. That doesn’t mean I think all his movies are wonderful or that he always is. In The Lake House he’s just okay. I like him best in comedic roles and he just seems a bit out of place here. Bullock fares better in this chick flick and was more comfortable in her role. I must admit I’m not a big chick flick fan with their implausible stories and predictable endings.

My recommendation is for you to wait for the DVD, which doesn’t look like it will have any interesting extras. If you’re a fan of the stars, if you love Chicago and its glorious architecture shown off here, if you’re on a first date, if you’re long married with female teenagers, you might check out this PG-rated movie. If the sweet story doesn’t get to you, well, maybe Jack will suddenly appear on your front step!

Just a warning, heh.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS