The movie "Bounce" is a 2000 American romantic drama film directed by Don Roos, and starring Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Plot

In Chicago's O'Hare Airport, advertising executive Buddy Amaral is delayed by a snowstorm on a return flight to Los Angeles, where he recently signed an airline as a major client. He meets writer Greg Janello, and when his flight resumes boarding, Buddy gives his ticket to Greg so Greg can return home to his wife and two sons, eight-year-old Scott and four-year-old Joey.

Buddy convinces his friend and airline employee Janice Guerrero to let Greg take Buddy's place on the flight. While staying with another stranded passenger, Mimi, Buddy sees on television that the flight crashed. He asks Janice to change the passenger list to replace his name with Greg's.

Greg's wife, Abby, is awakened by news of the crash and struggles for hours between hope and despair, believing Greg might still arrive on the later flight he was originally booked for. Her hope ends when Greg's death is confirmed.

After returning to Los Angeles, the airline requires Buddy to run a series of simple advertisements to reduce the negative effects of the crash, which earn a Clio Award. Troubled by guilt, Buddy causes a disturbance at the awards ceremony and begins attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. One step in recovery involves making amends, so Buddy contacts Abby, a real estate agent, and shares information about a commercial building her client is bidding on. In return, Abby takes Buddy to a game at Dodger Stadium. Their relationship grows, even though Buddy does not tell Abby he was indirectly responsible for Greg's death.

When the airline settles with Greg's family, Abby decides to take her sons on a flight to Palm Springs to help them overcome their fear of flying. Buddy joins them and forms a strong bond with the boys. On the return trip, Buddy says he has a secret to share the next day.

The truth emerges when Mimi arrives with a video showing Buddy and Greg drinking at the airport bar. Abby is deeply hurt by Buddy's lies and tells him to leave her home and her life, though she also asks him to say goodbye to the boys. The next day, Buddy explains to Scott that his father died trying to return home for a Boy Scouts event. Abby later admits she feels guilty for pressuring Greg to take the earlier flight.

Greg's family sues the airline for damages, and Janice's role is exposed when Buddy testifies. Abby watches as Buddy explains he gave his ticket to Greg and did not receive Greg's in return. Janice was forced to change the passenger list, which violated airline security rules and led to her being fired. Buddy is cleared of legal responsibility but remains deeply guilty.

Buddy resigns from his job after harming his client, the airline. Abby visits to tell him that talking with Scott helped both of them heal. When Buddy asks Abby to help sell his beachfront home, she realizes she can forgive him.

Production

The movie Bounce was developed by Steve Golin at Propaganda Films, which was part of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment. Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck had previously acted together in Shakespeare in Love and had a relationship that started and ended multiple times. Affleck initially believed he was too young for his role, but Paltrow encouraged him to accept it, saying it would allow him to try something new compared to his earlier acting roles. Filming took place at Los Angeles Center Studios, which was used to represent wintertime Chicago and an airplane scene. The main filming began on August 30, 1999, and ended on November 7, 1999.

Bounce was the first major film to be delivered through satellite technology. It was shown exclusively in digital format at AMC Empire. The film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theater in New York. It was originally planned to be released on July 7, 2000, but the release date was moved to November 2000 after public complaints from Affleck.

Music

• Weather [3:27]
• Bed Time [1:08]
• Boarding Pass [2:33]
• Moving Day [1:06]
• Hangover [0:57]
• Crash [1:37]
• Nice To Meet You [1:35]
• Now I Am [1:09]
• So Brave [1:45]
• Seven Steps [2:18]
• Christmas Trees [1:47]
• Award [1:21]
• Kiss [1:40]
• Deception [1:12]
• Say Goodbye [1:21]
• Testimony [1:36]
• You're Excused [1:46]
• Can We Try? [2:05]

Reception

The film opened at number 4 in the North American box office, earning $11.4 million during its first weekend. It earned a total of $53.4 million worldwide.

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 53% score, with an average rating of 5.5 out of 10 based on 108 reviews. The site’s summary says: "Critics say the film feels weak. The story has overused and forced plot twists, and the romance between the actors does not interest viewers." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 52% based on reviews from 31 critics, which means the reviews are mixed or average. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on a scale from A+ to F.

Roger Ebert gave the film 3 out of 4 stars. He noted that the story was familiar, saying, "Lovers with hidden secrets are a common movie idea…" However, he liked the film because the characters, including main and supporting roles, were honest and likeable.

Home media

The movie Bounce was released on a two-disc DVD set on April 10, 2001, by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, which was part of Miramax Home Entertainment at the time. The DVD included special features such as a director's commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel, and two behind-the-scenes documentaries. The film was also released on VHS on September 11, 2001.

In December 2010, Miramax was sold by The Walt Disney Company, which had owned it since 1993. That same month, the studio was acquired by a private equity firm called Filmyard Holdings. Filmyard gave the rights to sell Miramax movies on home media, such as DVD and Blu-ray, to Lionsgate. On April 10, 2012, Lionsgate Home Entertainment released Bounce on Blu-ray. In 2011, Filmyard allowed Netflix to stream Miramax movies, including Bounce, for five years. This streaming agreement ended on June 1, 2016.

In March 2016, Filmyard sold Miramax to a Qatari company called beIN Media Group. In April 2020, ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Skydance) purchased the rights to Miramax’s movie collection after buying a 49% share of the studio from beIN. Bounce was one of the 700 films included in this deal. Paramount began reissuing many Miramax movies. On September 22, 2020, Paramount Home Entertainment released a four-film DVD set that included Bounce and three other Miramax movies starring Gwyneth Paltrow (Emma, Shakespeare in Love, and View from the Top). On May 31, 2022, Paramount Home Entertainment released Bounce individually on Blu-ray. Later, Paramount made the film available on their paid streaming service, Paramount+, and their free streaming service, Pluto TV. In Australia, Bounce was also available on the streaming service of the Paramount-owned broadcaster, Network 10.