Many critics have labeled Town and Country the worst movie of the year. I decided to watch it just to see what all the fuss was about, and honestly, I don't see what's so bad, although it is a long way from being good.

Despite starring Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Andie MacDowell, Goldie Hawn, Jenna Elfman, and Garry Shandling, Town and Country sat on the shelf for two years before coming to theaters without any publicity or support. The movie tanked, and most critics were happy to see it go.

The movie is about cheating. Warren Beatty cheats on his wife with two women, and attempts to do so with a couple more. Pretty much all of the characters have their dirty secrets, and in the end, they pay the price. The reason so many people hated this movie is most likely that Town and Country is distasteful. It tries to be entertaining by having all of the characters sleep with all of the other characters, and it just doesn't work. It's hard to feel for the main characters when they are scum, even if it is obvious that the movie is trying to portray them in a positive light.

Town and Country isn't the smartest movie around, but it has enough entertaining things here and there to keep it out of that "Worst Movie" spot. The first twenty minutes are really funny, and there are a lot of other comical moments elsewhere throughout the script.

One thing I didn't like was how different the first half of the movie is from the second. The first half deals with all four of the main characters, while the second mainly focuses on Beatty, and Shandling a little bit. It's as though there are two different movies connected to each other. The second half is also a lot more slapstick and a lot more boring.

Town and Country is not a very good film, but it is anything but the worst movie of the year (like Freddy Got Fingered and The Animal). It has a lot of boring parts, but it also has some funny parts, and I could think of worse things to watch than this one.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.