Susan Granger’s review of “CHANGING LANES” (Paramount Pictures)
Rarely has the “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus” concept been as aptly illustrated as in this male aggression saga. Two men are under morning rush-hour time pressure to get to court when they collide on Manhattan’s crowded FDR Drive. Rather than apologizing and exchanging insurance information (which is what two women would probably have done), there’s a testosterone explosion. Gavin Banek (Ben Affleck), a self-absorbed Wall Street attorney, shoves a blank check at Doyle Gipson (Samuel L. Jackson), an insurance salesman, impatiently muttering “better luck next time,” and arrogantly drives off in his BMW, leaving Gipson stranded. Then, because he was delayed, Gipson loses a joint custody appeal for his two young sons. Banek, on the other hand, soon realizes he’s left a crucial probate document with Gipson – and, without it, he could lose his high-powered job and go to jail. So the two jerks spend the rest of the day trying to destroy each other’s lives as their anger escalates. Screenwriters Chap Taylor and Michael Tolkin with director Roger Michell explore the ethical flaws in both men’s characters that cause them to become lunatics. Banek is an inveterate liar, adulterer and cheat – while Gipson, a recovering alcoholic, is addicted to emotional chaos. But there are several potholes of credibility: Like what lawyer would be dumb enough leave a threatening message on an answering machine? And isn’t it too contrived that this sin-and-redemption morality conflict occurs on Good Friday? On the other hand, Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck are convincing, along with Sydney Pollack, Amanda Peet, Toni Collette and William Hurt. So, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Changing Lanes” is a glossy, slick 7. But it’s a hostile male ego trip that may leave women totally baffled.
