“American Beauty” meets “There’s Something About Mary” in the ridiculous, un-entertaining comedy “Say It Isn’t So.” Heather Graham of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and Chris Klein who starred in “American Pie” team up to deliver not-so-stunning performances in the tiresome story of boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl — with a demented twist.
Directed by J.B. Rogers, “Say It Isn’t So” centers itself in Shelbyville, Ind. where an animal shelter worker named Gilly, played by Klein, is waiting to fall in love. Gilly grew up in an orphanage and spends his time trying to find his birth mother.
His loneliness takes a turn when he learns of the new girl in town, Jo, played by Graham. Jo left her wealthy boyfriend in Oregon to return to her father’s side after he suffers his second stroke. She works as a stylist at the local salon.
Gilly meets Jo after gawking at her through the salon window, and decides to take the chance of her trimming his hair. Jo is anything but a good hairstylist, but the men around town sacrifice their hair so they can be in her presence. She ends up cutting off the top part of Gilly’s ear while giving him his crop, and this is where their romance begins.
After six months of mediocre, non-stop sexual contact, the two lovebirds decide to tie the knot. Their marriage is cut short when Gilly’s private investigator tells him Jo’s mother and father are also his parents. When the town finds out they are siblings, the two are humiliated and Jo leaves without even saying good-bye.
Sixteen months later, Gilly finds that it was all a scam and Jo is not really his sister. However, Jo has already returned to her boyfriend in Oregon. Gilly goes after Jo, but trial and tribulations, including landing himself in a mental hospital, makes a reunion difficult.
The supporting cast, which includes Sally Field, Richard Jenkins and Orlando Jones, make what little amount of quality humor exists in this movie come to light. Jones’ wonderful acting ability is apparent in his comedic portrayal of character, Dig. Without the three of them, the movie would have been a complete disgrace to romantic comedies.
The first five minutes of the movie are the most entertaining, after that it seems to fall in a deep procession of disgusting joke after joke. “Say It Isn’t So” drags on for 93 minutes of tasteless movie-making. It is not worth one’s hard earned money at the theater or even on video.
