Six Days Seven Nights

Old fashioned? Predictable? Charm driven? Of course. All of these. Plus sensational locations on the island of Kanai. Why is this not the feelgood movie of the year?

A sense of having been here before, as well as the suspicion that Ivan Reitman keeps everything light and frothy for commercial reasons, nags at the pleasure. David Schwimmer's character is such a whiny baby, you want to throttle him. He starts off being Mr Smooth, which is nauseating in a different way, playing on his Friends appeal for those easy laughs, which makes you wonder why Anne Heche has anything to do with him. She's a New York magazine editor, which means she's stressed, hyperactive, superficial, opinionated and in need of a break. Schwimmer is her boyfriend, who arranges a surprise week's holiday at a South Sea resort, where he pulls out a sparkly ring and says something embarrassing about doing him the honour. She smiles, gulps, smiles again and makes gaspy noises, which might be interpreted as a yes.

The important thing is that on day two of their paradise vocation, head office calls and asks her to fly somewhere else on an absolutely-must-happen exclusive. Instead of saying, "You can't be serious!", she finds the only guy with a plane on the island and leaves Schwimmer to comb more grease into his hair and feel sorry for himself. He's good at that.

The guy with the plane is Harrison Ford. He takes one look at Heche and thinks, spoilt, big-mouth, city, pain-in-the-ass. During an electric storm, they crash land on a desert island, all radio equipment frazzled, with only their wits to keep them alive. It's that old chestnut, the attraction of opposites scenario, but don't expect The African Queen.

Ford isn't the real, mean thing. He's an ex-company exec, who decided a few years back that quality of life - flying cargo between the islands - is worth a hell of a lot more than side effects of workaholism. Just when keeping house, jungle style, starts to drag, a bunch of heavily armed pirates appear and it's chasey chasey through the rain forest.

Nothing begins to be believable, except Ford's skill with the De Havilland Beaver. Heche is a good sport and Ford handles the action as well as ever (fresh out of Air Force One, he was still doing the press-ups). Anyone looking for traditional romantic comedy won't be disappointed, as long as they understand it doesn't break a square metre of new ground.