My Mom's New Boyfriend

After a three-year assignment in the field FBI agent Henry Durand (Colin Hanks) returns home with his fiance (Selma Blair) only to find his once-dowdy over weight mother Martha has transformed into the highly attractive enlightened Marty (Meg Ryan) who dates every night of the week. When Marty meets the mysterious Tommy (Antonio Banderas) Henry is ordered to spy on his mother after learning Tommy may be involved in an international art theft ring.

The premise is delicious: A young, by-the-book FBI agent (Colin Hanks) is assigned his new highest-profile assignment yet--spying on his own mother (Meg Ryan). My Mom's New Boyfriend is a romantic comedy long on both romance and comedy, and gives Ryan her first film in a long time where she can take the laughs and run with them. Viewers will remember, with a grateful sigh, why she long reigned as the queen of American romantic comedy. Ryan plays Marty, devoted mom, who last saw her son, Henry (Hanks), three years ago when she was unhealthy, coarse, and overweight (looking like she might have borrowed Monica's fat suit from Friends). When Henry returns home from his secret op, fiancée in tow (Selma Blair), Marty's still coarse, but has become a babe with a healthy libido. ("Oh Henry, lighten up!" is Marty's oft-repeated refrain.) Henry is horrified, but his girlfriend, Emily, is entranced. In fact, some of the film's best chemistry is between these two gifted actresses, as they spark and feed off each other's energy. When Marty takes up with the sultry Tommy (Antonio Banderas), Henry gets the ultimate "TMI" assignment: spying on his mom and her honey, suspected in an art-theft ring. Hanks squirms convincingly, Banderas smolders, and Ryan truly sparkles, giving her wacky side free rein. If the plot has a few potholes, it doesn't matter, since the cast is so stellar and has such magnetism. By sheer determination and talent, the ensemble delivers laughs and poignancy, by turns. Extras include deleted scenes (and a few memorable bloopers), and a behind-the-scenes featurette on filming on location in northern Louisiana. --A.T. Hurley