
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, April 30, 1994                   TAG: 9404300028
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: B-10   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`THE FAVOR' IS A FUNNY, ENTERTAINING FILM

At various times, "The Favor" is a tricky sex farce of the old school, a more mature "Risky Business" with a feminist slant, and a comedy about friendship between women.

All right, there is a certain lack of focus and unevenness of tone, but why quibble? This a funny - occasionally hilarious - mixture of attractive characters and slickly conceived Hollywood formula. It's not deep, just enjoyable. The people who made it have a solid record of box office hits and this one ought to be just as popular.

As her 15th high school reunion approaches, happily married, 30-something Kathy Whiting (Harley Jane Kozak) is experiencing vivid sexual fantasies about an old beau, Tom (Ken Wahl). But she's got a husband (Bill Pullman) who loves her, two cute little girls and a thriving bookkeeping business. A busy mom like herself doesn't have time for such idle nonsense. Does she?

Then she learns that her best friend Emily (Elizabeth McGovern) is planning a trip to Denver, where Tom lives. Emily's everything that Kathy is not - single, free-spirited, sexually active and involved in an "open" relationship with a younger man (Brad Pitt). It only makes sense that Kathy would ask Emily to look Tom up, just to see if her fantasies have any basis in fact.

That's "The Favor" she asks, and it's all anyone should know about the rest of the story. Writers and co-producers Sara Parriott and Josann McGibbon were also responsible for "Three Men and a Baby" and they bring the same glib, snappy wit to this one. (The Lamaze class scene is so laugh-out-loud hilarious that most people won't be able to hear half the jokes.)

From his first hit, "Mystic Pizza," to his most recent, "Grumpy Old Men," director Donald Petrie has shown a deft hand at this kind of romantic comedy. He does his best to mold different moods into a smooth story, but that's not always possible. The shifts in and out of fantasy aren't hard to accept. Toward the end, though, when the comic curve should be climbing, it tends to level off with more serious moments.

That's not a fatal mistake, by any means. The filmmakers mean for this to be audience-pleasing entertainment and it is. In fact, "The Favor," which has been floating in the studio's financial limbo since it was made in 1990, could be this year's romantic sleeper.

The Favor: ***

An Orion release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 97 min. Rated R for subject matter, strong language.

by CNB