"Along Came Polly" is an unlikely romance between an insurance risk assessor named Ruben and an unpredictable hostess named Polly, whom he knows from junior high school.

Ruben, played by Ben Stiller (Meet the Parents), falls abnormally fast for his old friend who invites risk into her life without thinking and/or commitment. He attempts to change what he can of his life to accommodate Polly's spirit, played by Emmy Award® winner Jennifer Aniston (TV's Friends).

However, as Ruben feels they are drifting into an exclusive relationship, Polly pulls further away from him. His dreams of re-marriage and a happy life are dangled in front of him, as conflict comes from his over zealous mother and the return of his straying wife, played by hottie Debra Messing (TV's Will and Grace).

Performances in "Along Came Polly" were very easily rendered. Stiller offers the same performance he gave in "Something About Mary" and "Meet the Parents," as Aniston had no stretch to create a character like Polly.

However, what makes this on screen couple unique, Polly is not presented as the perfect image of a desirable woman. Although very attractive, Polly is slovenly, lazy, without forethought and a severely poor dresser. All these qualities make the character more believable than Stiller's, who may as well been diagnosed with OCD.

The most amusing performance comes from Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Owning Mahoney) as Ruben's best friend, a struggling egotistical actor once famous by an eighties movie resembling "The Breakfast Club."

Character actor Hank Azaria (Mystery Men), playing the Caribbean scuba instructor who seduces Ruben's wife in the film's opening sequence, offered another fun role.

The picture offers nothing new to the genre, even though laughs are plentiful. Material attempts to say something about living moment to moment AND planning ahead are not bad aspects of people's personalities. However, the message is littered with outdated bowel jokes, toilet humor and a couple overworked sight gags.

And of course, no Ben Stiller comedy would be complete without him dancing like an idiot for at least one scene. Most other scenes in the film are inconsequential to the story. Thus with a few chuckles, I have to give this one a big yawn.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?