Review: All About Steve (Sandra Bullock makes a great nerd)

Sometimes it’s nice when a movie doesn’t fit neatly into a particular category. But … sometimes movies like that need a little more focus.

“All About Steve” is a lot of different things – a quirky comedy, a drama, an action-adventure, a sex romp, and a little bit of a horror movie. Most of all, it’s a character study about someone who doesn’t fit neatly into society. in that way, it’s like the movie itself. From the trailers, I was expecting a comedy, and while there are definitely some funny moments, I wouldn’t classify “All About Steve” as a comedy. It’s about a kooky woman trying to find her way in the world when everyone else wants her to be “normal.”

Sandra Bullock plays Mary Horowitz, a woman who marches to the beat of her own drum – in shiny, red, knee-high boots. Mary works as a crossword puzzle creator for the local newspaper, and she takes her job very seriously. In fact, Mary’s life is pretty much all about her work, and it’s the perfect job for her, since she knows every little factoid about every little thing that might come up in conversation. Which means she’s usually rambling on and on, whether people are listening or not.

Mary lives at home with her parents, played by Beth Grant and Howard Hesseman (who looks nothing like his Dr. Johnny Fever character from “WKRP in Cincinnati,” but then, he’s 69 now – 69! – where does the time go?). Mary tells people she’s just staying with her parents while her apartment is being “fumigated,” but you’re never really sure whether it’s true or not. I think it’s just a story she tells so she doesn’t have to explain why she doesn’t have her own place yet. 

When Mary’s parents set her up on a blind date, she’s not expecting much. Imagine her surprise when the guy turns out to be handsome Steve (Bradley Cooper), who works as a cameraman for a local news station. Mary lacks a lot of the social graces that other people have, so by the time she and Steve get into his car, she decides that he’s “the one,” and immediately lunges at him and starts ripping his clothes off. Before they consummate things, however, Steve is called off to work, happy to make his escape and leave Mary on the corner in the rain with his umbrella.

But that’s all it took for Mary to go berserk over Steve, which causes her to lose her job, which then causes her to follow him around the country on his news assignments. The only problem is, Steve has already marked Mary as a crazy person and tells her to go away and leave him alone. She might have done that, if not for the misguided advice of the self-obsessed reporter working with Steve, Hartman Hughes (Thomas Haden Church), who encourages Mary to pursue Steve, because that’s really “what Steve wants.” Wacky hi-jinks ensue.

The highlight of this movie is watching Sandra Bullock be a weird, fearless kook whose life revolves around words. The message for kids aged 13 and older who see this movie: Be yourself, even if other people are constantly trying to make you “normal.” As Mr. Rogers says, you’re special just as you are.

There are some truly comedic moments, some involving the other “abnormal” characters that Mary meets in her travels. But overall, this movie is a mish-mash of misfit scenes cobbled together. It’s worth a look if you like Sandra Bullock, and Bradley Cooper is never hard to look at. But don’t go into this movie expecting to laugh all the way through. It’s not that kind of movie.

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