It is so great to go into a movie with low expectations and be pleasantly surprised.  When I first heard about Two weeks Notice, I wanted to see it, first because I am deeply, deeply in love with Sandra Bullock and second because, well, I feel almost the same about Hugh Grant.  But then, the reviews started coming in and they were bad.  So, I put off seeing it during the holiday rush of movies.  But once I was down under, and had to choose between it, The Hot Chick and The Master of Disguise, Two Weeks Notice started sounding pretty good so I went to see it. And what do you know, it's a nice, funny movie.  

     Two Weeks Notice tells the story of a billionaire playboy (Hugh Grant) who mostly plays around but helps his brother (David Haig) in the business, sort of like the brothers in Sabrina.  Anyway, Grant hires only female lawyers to work for him and then, well, sleeps with them, and they leave.  So, as the movie starts, he needs a lawyer and, you guessed it, he hires Sandra Bullock.  She is at her cute but geeky best here as a left-wing, Harvard-trained New York lawyer who is the daughter of left-wing lawyers (Robert Klein + Dana Ivey).  Even though she abhors all that Grant stands for, Bullock takes the job to help save the community center in her neighborhood from being razed in hiss latest real estate scheme.  Grant is a Donald Trump clone and, in case you don't get that, The Donald himself, makes a cameo appearance. Being the obsessive-compulsive, anal retentive sort, Bullock throws herself into Grant's business dealings, and he becomes so dependent on her that he calls her out of a wedding, where she is Maid of Honor, to help him pick out clothes.  At this point she gives him her "Two Weeks Notice."

     This movie is definitely in the great tradition of romantic comedies where the man and woman hate each other on sight, trade insults, then fall in love.  And while this movie isn't the same league as say, The Philadelphia Story, it is fun and entertaining.  And despite what the other reviews say, Grant and Bullock have a nice chemistry together. And I liked the story with the exception of the last scene where they didn't seem to know what to do except have an endless kiss.  But you can let your eyes take in the beauty of New York City while you wait for the credits to roll.  Yes, I am giving away the ending. You never could have guessed it on your own.  

     This movie reinforces what I have always believed, which is that Sandra Bullock is my soulmate.  In Two Weeks Notice, her character hates beets, loves baseball and cried when Bush was elected President. You gotta love her.  Grant is also at Grant-iest in this film.  He can do a role like this on cruise control, and he is good even though his performance doesn't rise to the heights of About a Boy.  Robert Klein, best known of course as a stand-up comedian, does a very sweet job here as Bullock's father.  

     So, forget what you have heard and put this back on your chick-flick, date-movie list.  Don't expect great art but it has a some good laughs.