Pun Salad

Another chick flick night at Pun Salad manor.

Diane Lane plays Adrienne, who's temporarily in charge of a friend's beach-based bed-and-breakfast on a North Carolina barrier island. She's at one of life's crossroads: her estranged husband has taken the irritating kids off to Disney World, but not before asking that he be forgiven for his infidelity. There's just one lodger at the B&B: Paul, played by Richard Gere, who's on a mysterious mission to the local village, Rodanthe. He's all moody and dark; coincidentally, he's also at a turning point, having just sold his gigantic house.

You'll never guess what happens next! Unless you you peek at the DVD box over there on the right. Yes, Paul turns out to be a deranged killer who specializes in removing the heads of his unsuspecting female victims! He puts his hands like so, and …

Well, no, not really. What happens next is a nasty storm, and a whole bunch of mawkish dialog.

It's not awful, Mr. Gere and Ms. Lane are decent actors, and the setting is picturesque. I unexpectedly failed to doze off in the middle, which I found surprising.