No stellar performance for this onscreen duo

Ah, the romantic tale of a writer and his stenographer. "Alex and Emma" achieves its purpose as an intelligent romantic comedy, but the movie fluctuates back and forth between being charmingly cute and slow to sit through. \nAlex Sheldon (Luke Wilson) has borrowed money from loan sharks and must complete a novel in 30 days to obtain the money needed to pay them back. He hires a stenographer, Emma Dinsmore (Kate Hudson), to whom he must dictate his entire novel that he hasn't even begun. \nKate Hudson has foregone her normal blonde bombshell look for mousy brown hair and casual clothing, creating a down-to-earth feel for her sweet and intelligent character. Emma is constantly objecting to Alex's writing, interposing her own opinions about the characters and the plot. The dialogue in this film is fairly intelligent, with a good deal of the comedy coming from Hudson's witty banter and Wilson's goofy performances i.e. his portrayal of a wannabe Flamenco dancer. \nThe movie is constantly flipping back and forth between the real life events of Alex and Emma and the fictional story that is being written. Hudson has the opportunity to play many characters and don a variety of goofy accents. Although her acting is somewhat over the top in these scenes, it is still pleasantly comical. \nThe movie deals with the problems faced by writers. As Alex's story unfolds and the plot begins to take shape, a love triangle is formed. Alex then finds his story beginning to imitate life and he must ultimately decide the proper ending for his book, and hence, his real life. While the overall plot might be predictable, the events leading up to the conclusion take some unpredictable turns. While this is probably not the best work for either Hudson ("Almost Famous") or Wilson ("The Royal Tennenbaums," "Old School") or even their director, Rob Reiner ("When Harry Met Sally"), it is still an entertaining comedy that will please any romantic.