'Prime' makes audiences work too hard for the humor

Writer-director Ben Younger wants to be Woody Allen in the worst way. Unfortunately, he's gone about it in the worst way. He's made "Prime," a kind of made-for-TV Woody movie, circa "Manhattan."

Younger's Manhattan is a wondrous place of Antonioni retrospectives, friendly lines snaking around a neighborhood bakery (in this case, the well-known Magnolia Bakery on Bleeker Street), and the occasional pickup basketball game. A city of bright lights and bashful, age-inappropriate romantics.

Focus Features 'Prime' C The verdict: Not really. Director: Ben Younger Starring: Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman, Bryan Greenberg, Jon Abrahams, Jerry Adler Run time: 106 minutes Release date: Oct. 28, 2005 Rating: PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, and for language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Prime'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

But Younger, though talented, is no Allen. Especially not a younger, pre-Soon-Yi Allen.

Meryl Streep does some serious movie-stealing as Jewish therapist Lisa Metzger. We know she's Jewish because: a) she lives on the Upper West Side; b) she clucks over her patients like a mother-hen mensch; c) she wears a succession of slightly vulgar — yet still endearing — make-a-statement necklaces, each one clunkier than the last; and d) she uses the nasal honk she employed as Nora Ephron in "Heartburn."

Uma Thurman co-stars as one of her patients, Rafi, a 37-year-old photography producer whose recent divorce has left her singularly insecure. But now everything's changed. She's met a gorgeous, sensitive, sexy hunk named David (Bryan Greenberg). And he's, well, 23.

There's a much bigger problem, however. One that's been revealed in every trailer, TV ad and talk show clip. But if you've been out of the country or in intensive care for several weeks, warning: spoiler ahead.

David is also Lisa's bouncing baby boy. Once she learns he's who Rafi is seeing, she really doesn't want to hear the ecstatic confession: "We've had sex on every surface of my apartment!"

Much of the movie's humor comes from Streep's being torn between being Dr. Ruth and being just plain horrified. The dichotomy leads to some perplexing exchanges with her son, who doesn't know what she knows and is eager to talk about his newfound love.

Sandra Bullock was originally cast as Rafi, and it's interesting to think how that would've changed the movie. Regardless, Thurman is sensational. Finally given the chance to play someone approximating a normal person, as opposed to a Quentin Tarantino fantasy figure or a leggy sex goddess, she's delightful — vulnerable, appealing and blessed with good comic timing. Her scenes with Streep are the best part of the movie — even though they're not exactly in the same movie.

Which, at base, is "Prime's" biggest problem. Part of it is supposed to be a starry-eyed romantic comedy that deals with differences in age, religion, etc. But another part — the part Streep inhabits — is broadly farcical, with Streep using her considerable skill to sketch an affectionate comic portrait of a Jewish mother in overdrive.

However, the trouble doesn't just rest in the writing. After all, Younger also made the snappy, more focused, "Boiler Room." "Prime's" fate is sealed by the inconsequential Greenberg, a JFK Jr. look-alike who's simply out of his league — with both Streep and Thurman. He's like an unfortunate interruption in their otherwise enjoyable picture.

The movie isn't a disaster. There are plenty of funny lines and some very sly comic touches — such as Lisa drinking Coke from a wine glass at the family seder. But you feel yourself trying too hard to make the film work. And that's the film's job, not ours.