All the lonely people

>> Amos Kollek and Anna Thomson return with the relationship comedy Fast Food, Fast Women

by MARK SLUTSKY

I had a strange feeling of dread throughout the first half of Fast Food, Fast Women, the latest collaboration between director Amos Kollek and actress Anna Thomson. It had nothing to do with the movie itself, but rather the fact that the last film of theirs I'd seen, Sue, was so emotionally devastating. But the despair I'd been fearing never materializes in Fast Food, Fast Women. It's a good-natured--even cheerful--relationship comedy.

Fast Food, Fast Women tracks several characters, all somewhat lonely, as they search for love and revitalization in New York. Thomson plays Bella, a diner waitress in her mid-30s entangled in a 12-year affair with a middle-aged theatre impresario. One of her regular customers is Paul (Robert Modica), an older gentleman desperate for romance. Thomson begins a tentative relationship with failed novelist and cab driver Bruno (Jamie Harris) just as Modica meets the widowed Emily (Louise Lasser) through a personal ad. From then on the characters dance around each other as they tend to do in these modern-relationship movies, with all the attendant misunderstandings, heartbreak and tidy resolutions.

What does set Fast Food, Fast Women apart is its admirable portrayal of romance outside the generational confines usually found in the movies. An older woman hooks up with a younger man and it's no big deal: not played for laughs, just part of the plot. It's a nice change to see a movie about love and relationships--and set in New York, no less--where the actors aren't all pretty morons in their 20s.

All that said, the movie is a bit too cute and its ending too pat for its own good. And for a supposed comedy it isn't all that funny. But it is nicely breezy and quite enjoyable to watch, made so largely by the performances. Modica and Lasser, old pros, are perfectly understated, and Thomson is again terrific: she's got an amazingly expressive face and a really interesting, unique presence. Fast Food, Fast Women doesn't nearly have Sue's impact, but it lacks some of its flaws as well. Kollek finally has a well-rounded cast to work with, some stronger performers to play off Thomson's natural talents.

Fast Food, Fast Women opens this Friday, Feb. 23