Speechless

Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are a winning ticket (Joel Siegel, Good Morning America ) in this captivating romantic comedy which proves conclusively that opposites do attract and then some. 'smart, sexy and side-splittingly funny (Mike McKay, WBTV-CBS), Speechless is the word for great entertainment. It was a match made in heaven... almost. Two witty, intelligent insomniacs, Kevin (Keaton) and Julia (Davis), meet over the last box of sleeping pills at an all-night convenience store and are immediately attracted. They share an evening of passion and romance and discover that they have a lot in common... maybe too much. When they learn that they're both speech writers but for opposing political campaigns the sweethearts quickly move from speechless to ruthless and drop the pillow talk for serious verbal jabbing. But the more they stab each other in the back and insult each other directly, the more they realize that true love doesn't always follow along party lines.

Picture James Carville and Mary Matalin dropped into a screwball comedy. Michael Keaton and Geena Davis are political speechwriters with bad cases of insomnia who meet cute, fall in love, and then discover that they are working for opposing candidates. The subsequent short-lived war of dirty tricks and one-upmanship is one of those contrivances that is soon (and thankfully) discarded in light of their instant rapport and mutual respect. In a world where candidates are for sale and campaigns are fought like poker games, these idealists are made for each other--they just don't know it yet. Director Ron Underwood (City Slickers) has a light touch with comedy and a nice feel for romantic fun, but it's the charm of Keaton and Davis that puts the bounce in an otherwise limp political satire. --Sean Axmaker