An incandescent James Caan and a no-nonsense Kevin Pollak jump start
this tale of internet porn's early days whenever they appear. But much
of the movie is uninvolving and unconvincing, and I'm not sure why. Is
it because Luke Wilson, while nicely underplaying the lead, remains a
cypher? His strait-laced ways contradict his descent into a sexual and
criminal underbelly — and his success there never seems to give him
any pleasure. If that's the point, then I don't get it. The teaming of
Giovanni Ribisi and Gabriel Macht as a pair of dumbasses sounds
promising, yet nothing either one does is especially memorable. Kudos,
though, to a game Jacinda Barrett as the long-suffering wife. And who
is this fascinating knockout called Laura Ramsey? Her role as a porn
star suffers from the fuzziness with which other characters are drawn
— but she's tough and assured and star-worthy. — Jeff Schultz