Movie review - "Strange Planet" (1999) **

I have affection for this film for personal reasons but looking back it isn't very good. The filmmakers seem to have been struck by the novelty of their structure - a group of three female friends and a group of three male friends who don't meet til the end - but it doesn't work. They don't interact at all - not really - until the very end, which means we follow six plots, none of which are that interesting. Compare it to Sleepless in Seattle, where the lead characters don't meet - but Meg Ryan is fully aware of Tom Hanks from the beginning and her following him sets off the whole plot. Claudia Karvan is a capable, skilled actor but her character is very unlikeable here, sleeping her way to the top and making narky comments about working in radio. Naomi Watts would do greater work later, too. Tom Long is a bit better - but what sort of lawyer in 1999 smokes in his office? And tells his client he's thinking of quitting? Some nice moments: the Sydney montages, Noami Watts and Aaron Jeffreys locking eyes when they first meet. But if feels too much like a film made by rich people who live in Bondi.